LINKTV Global 3000 July 14, 2024
Online. Some are in demand as exotic pets. Others are sold for their body parts, such as ivory for souvenirs, snake skin for the fashion industry, or fins and scales for use in traditional medicine. The trade in protected species is illegal, but very lucrative. Every year, the business turns over an estimated 20 billion. Organized along mafialike lines, wildlife crcrime has grn into one of the worlds biggest illicit trades, after narcotics, arms sales, and human trafficking. One shy creature is particularly valuable on the market, the pangolin, the only mammal with scales. That is what makes t...