Odatria_14_NOV13 - Victorian Herpetological Society

and Natusch uncovered a different story—that breedingfarms were being used to illegally launder wild caughtsnakes.“Merely the requirement of having to enclose eggshellswithin shipments (and not even measuring them) wouldcurtail much of the trade,” Lyons told mongabay.com.As of yet, this method has not been implemented.In addition, Natusch and Lyons recommend, “the needfor increased monitoring and enforcement, improvingthe knowledge base of species traded and educatingconsumers about the effects their demand for pets has onthese species.”Illegally traded green pythons (Morelia viridis) in the black marketpet trade.Between April 2009 and Sept 2011, the authors surveyedtraders who supplied the market for green pythons(Morelia viridis). Commercial trade in green pythons islegitimate when the traded individuals are bred in captivity,but harvesting green pythons form the wild is strictlyillegal. However, it appears that many traders are takingadvantage of an inadvertent loophole in the system. Localcollectors harvest snakes in the wild, and sell them tobreeding farms, which pass these snakes off as captivebred.“Extrapolation of monthly collection estimates providedby traders revealed that at least 5,337 green pythonsare collected each year, suggesting that at least 80% ofthe green pythons exported from Indonesia annually areillegally wild-caught,” the scientists wrote last year.Illegally traded green python (Morelia viridis) with head injury likelydue to being in a cramped, wet cage. The snake may have rubbeditself raw trying to escape.CITATION: Lyons, J.A., Natusch, D.J.D. Wildlife launderingthrough breeding farms: Illegal harvest, population declinesand a means of regulating the trade of green pythons(Morelia viridis) from Indonesia. Biological Conservation.(2011), doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2011.10.002Natusch, D. J. D., and Lyons, J.A. Exploited for pets:the harvest and trade of amphibians and reptiles fromIndonesian New Guinea. Biodiversity and Conservation.(2012), doi: 10.1007/s10531-012-0345-8Illegally traded blue-spotted tree monitor (Varanus macraei) in acrate.The authors suggest many methods to counter thelaundering of illegally caught wildlife. One novel methodis ensuring that the snakes are sold along with theireggshells, which can be measured to verify authenticity.21