They seized 143 tarantulas that were to be illegally exported from Bogotá to Mexico

In the last few hours, the Ministry of Environment managed to recover, together with the Environmental and Ecological Police, more than 140 tarantulas that were to be sent from El Dorado airport to a country in Central America.

The seizure was made thanks to a wake-up call from a parcel company, which reported the presence of foreign objects at the time of the inspection by the scanners of the cargo terminal. Once professionals from the Ministry of Environment and members of the Environmental and Ecological Police came to the scene to verify the cargo, it was determined that 143 tarantulas of the suborder Mygalomorphae were camouflaged inside a chess game.

The animals were checked and evaluated and Secretariat professionals determined that 131 tarantulas were alive, while 12 were dead. The insects were transported in precarious conditions in plastic bags, which did not allow them adequate ventilation.

The order, which was ultimately destined for Mexico City, did not have the respective environmental and safe conduct permits or licenses that protected its use, mobilization or commercialization. The environmental and police authorities began investigations to determine the sender and recipient, and thus initiate the respective sanctioning proceedings.

For now, the animals have been transferred to the Center for the Care, Assessment and Rehabilitation of Wild Flora and Fauna, where professionals provide the medical, nutritional and biological care necessary to stabilize them. In addition, after determining the places of origin of these arthropods, it will be evaluated whether the release or relocation takes place.

It should be noted that Law 1333 of 2009 provides for daily fines of up to five thousand (5,000) legal minimum monthly wages in force and the restitution and/or restoration of damage, without prejudice to any civil, criminal and disciplinary actions that may occur.

It should be recalled that, in November 2021, thanks to the control work carried out by the authorities at El Dorado International Airport, 309 specimens of wildlife that were to be illegally taken into Europe by German citizens were seized. At that time 232 spiders, a scorpion with 7 young, nine spider eggs and 67 cockroaches were camouflaged in 210 plastic containers (between cokes and photographic scrolls).

The Ministry of Environment and El Dorado International Airport have been implementing actions to protect all forms of life and counter wildlife trafficking. The two entities will continue to implement communication, awareness and coordination strategies between different actors to prevent this scourge through the country's main air terminal.

For its part, the Administration of Mayor Claudia López invites all persons to refrain from mobilizing, marketing or illegally holding wildlife individuals, and to report all suspected cases of illegal wildlife trafficking through e-mail fauna@ambientebogota.gov.co or to the telephone lines: 317 4276828 and at the offices of the Terminal de Transportes del Sur, Terminal de Transportes de Bogotá and at the fixed number: 601 377 8854.

With regard to this crime, the Ministry of Environment reported that during 2021 in Colombia 18,636 individuals of fauna and 282,147 of flora were seized, which represented 2325 captures and pointed out that among the most trafficked species of fauna are turtles, matamata, iguanas, babillas, canaries, parrots, blue-yellow macaws, spider monkeys, white-headed and white-headed marmoset monkeys, and flora, palms and guaduas.

It is that, in the country with the Law on Environmental Crimes, trafficking in fauna was enshrined in article 328A, which states that “whoever traffics, acquires, exports or markets without permission from the competent authority or in breach of existing regulations specimens, products or parts of aquatic or wild fauna or species wild aliens, shall incur imprisonment for 60 to 135 months, and a fine of 300 to 40,000 statutory minimum monthly wages in force”.

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