Over 300 tarantula, scorpions bound for Europe seized in Colombia
Over 300 tarantulas and scorpions bound for Europe seized by anti-smuggling police in Colombia
- Colombian officials seized 210 plastic containers of spiders, scorpions, roaches
- Arrested two Germans on suspicion of trafficking the creepy crawlies to Europe
- Pair claimed they were taking arachnids for academia, but did not have permits
- Colombia, which has tens of thousands of species, is a animal trafficking hotspot
Over 300 tarantulas and scorpions bound for Europe have been seized by anti-smuggling police in Colombia.
Authorities at Bogota’s El Dorado airport seized 210 plastic containers of creepy crawlies – including 232 tarantula spiders, nine spider eggs and a scorpion with seven of its young, as well as 67 roaches.
Two Germans were arrested after the containers were found stashed in their suitcases by security officials.
The pair claimed they were were shipping the animals to Germany for academic reasons, but authorities said they were travelling without the necessary permits.
The animals are being examined by professionals, officials said, who will later decide whether to free or relocate them.
Colombian authorities seized hundreds of creepy crawlies as they were being taken illegally to Europe via the airport in capital city Bogota, officials said on Thursday
The animals are being examined by professionals, officials said, who will later decide whether to free or relocate them
Two Germans were found with 210 plastic containers in a suitcase they were using to carry the arachnids, which included 232 tarantula spiders, nine spider eggs and a scorpion with seven of its young, as well as 67 roaches
Colombia’s Environment Secretary Carolina Urrutia said: ‘We remind the public that despite having supposed academic or research purposes, any research must have explicit permits from the environmental authorities.’
She added professionals would carry out ‘biological evaluations’ of the creatures to determine ‘if there is any degree of risk or threat’ before deciding whether to release them.
Colombia, which is one of the world’s 17 mega-diverse countries and boasts tens of thousands of different species, is a target for wildlife traffickers drawn by its biodiversity.
Among the arachnids found in the suitcases were 232 tarantula spiders, nine spider eggs and a scorpion with seven of its young, as well as 67 roaches
Colombia’s Environment Secretary Carolina Urrutia reminded people of the need to get permits to export arachnids from the country following the incident
More than 11,000 specimens have been seized during 2021 so far, officials said.
‘We haven’t had a shipment of tarantulas this size since 2018 [and] the largest we have had this year was shark fins,’ Bogota’s environment secretary, Carolina Urrutia, said in a statement.
In September Colombian authorities confiscated a shipment of 3,493 shark fins – equivalent to between 900 and 1,000 sharks – which were to be illegally trafficked to Hong Kong.
The animals are being examined by professionals, officials said, who will later decide whether to free or relocate them
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