Endangered species law gets more bite
11 August 2009
Today officers from the Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime and Chinatown Units seized approximately 200 products believed to be made from endangered animals and plants including musk deer, leopard, tiger and Aucklandia, a species of plant from the aster family.
Officers carried out the raid after seeing products they suspected of containing ingredients derived from endangered species on display in a Traditional Asian Medicine shop in Lisle Street, Westminster. The raid was part of Operation Charm, the Met's ongoing partnership initiative against the illegal trade in endangered species in London.
DC David Flint who led today’s action said: "Most Traditional Chinese Medicines are not made from endangered species and can be sold legally. However, a small number of products do contain these ingredients, and it is these products that have a disproportionate impact on wild populations by sustaining a demand.
To meet this demand poachers and traffickers will continue to profit from killing and supplying animals from other parts of the world and the future of some of our most endangered species will be at risk.”
The raid was made following an amendment in the law controlling illegal trade in endangered species, which came into effect today.
The regulations have been amended to close an inadvertent loophole when dealing with species, such as musk deer, that are so called “split-listed”. Such species are covered by different parts of the regulations depending on which country the specimen originated from, and therefore receive different levels of protection. When it comes to manufactured products investigators are often unable to determine the country of origin of the illegal ingredients, which has made it difficult to prosecute in cases of split-listed species. Now, unless there is evidence to the contrary, the higher level of protection will be applied.
Heather Sohl, WWF Species Trade Officer said: “With our partners WWF sought to close this loophole so we are thrilled with this seizure. The fact the amendment has been used on its first day in effect shows how necessary it is to have effective laws and tools in place to bring unscrupulous traders to justice.”
The Search Warrant was issued under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997. These regulations make it illegal to sell, keep for sale, or buy any item that claims to be made from an endangered species.
If anyone has any information regarding the illegal sale of products containing endangered species you can contact the Wildlife Crime Unit on 0207 230 8898 or via the Operation Charm website at www.operationcharm.org. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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Notes to editors:
Since its launch in 1995 Operation Charm has been responsible for the seizure of more than 40,000 items made from endangered species in the capital. Many of these have been traditional Chinese medicine products, but other seizures have included shahtoosh shawls, elephant ivory and taxidermy.
Operation Charm is a unique partnership between the Metropolitan Police, the Greater London Authority and the international wildlife groups WildAid, IFAW, WWF and the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. More information on Operation Charm can be found at www.operationcharm.org.
The trade in endangered species is strictly controlled by CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). CITES bans the international commercial trade in the world's most endangered species and only allows trade in many others if government permits have been issued. The convention has been signed by more than 170 countries including the UK. These controls apply to both live and dead animals and plants as well as anything that comes from them or is made from them.
The Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 enforce CITES in the UK. The maximum penalty is five years imprisonment and a £5000 fine for each offence.
The amending regulation coming into force on the 11th August 2009 is The Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 2009.
