A thousand baby crocs in the car
Tuesday, March 14, 2006; Posted: 1:52 p.m. EST (18:52 GMT)
GEORGE, South Africa (AP) -- A man appeared in a South African court Tuesday after being caught with 1,067 baby crocodiles in his car.
Paul Gildenhuys of Cape Nature Conservation's environmental crime unit told the South African Press Association that the man faced charges of possession and transport of the crocodiles without the necessary permits.
There was no immediate information about where the crocodiles came from and where they were to be sold.
"Everything that flies, walks, swims and crawls has a price on its head. That's a fact of life," Gildenhuys said.
Gildenhuys said recent figures from the international police agency, Interpol, showed that trade in flora and fauna was now the second largest illegal trade in the world, after narcotics. Recent estimates for the illegal flora and fauna trade put the figure at some $20 billion a year.
South Africa is seen as one of the world's hotspots for biodiversity with its rich natural wildlife.
The case was transferred from the southern town of George to Hermanus, just outside Cape Town, for May 8, SAPA said.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/03/14/crocs.in.car.ap/index.html
Tuesday, March 14, 2006; Posted: 1:52 p.m. EST (18:52 GMT)
GEORGE, South Africa (AP) -- A man appeared in a South African court Tuesday after being caught with 1,067 baby crocodiles in his car.
Paul Gildenhuys of Cape Nature Conservation's environmental crime unit told the South African Press Association that the man faced charges of possession and transport of the crocodiles without the necessary permits.
There was no immediate information about where the crocodiles came from and where they were to be sold.
"Everything that flies, walks, swims and crawls has a price on its head. That's a fact of life," Gildenhuys said.
Gildenhuys said recent figures from the international police agency, Interpol, showed that trade in flora and fauna was now the second largest illegal trade in the world, after narcotics. Recent estimates for the illegal flora and fauna trade put the figure at some $20 billion a year.
South Africa is seen as one of the world's hotspots for biodiversity with its rich natural wildlife.
The case was transferred from the southern town of George to Hermanus, just outside Cape Town, for May 8, SAPA said.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/03/14/crocs.in.car.ap/index.html
