Four caught trading protected species at Noord-Brabant curio market

The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) drew up official reports against four people caught selling stuffed and embalmed protected species at a curio market in Noord-Brabant on Sunday. They couldn’t demonstrate that they had legally acquired those animals, the NVWA said. Inspectors seized 12 animals and objects.

Traders offered all kinds of “curiosities” at the curio market, but not all of them were legal. Inspectors found various mounted and stuffed protected animals, including a tawny owl, a sparrowhawk, a cobra, and an Ambonese box turtle. They also found a python, a baby Madagascar day gecko, and four spiny-tailed dragons in formaldehyde, a dead European canary, and the skull of a Greek tortoise.

All these animals are protected species, and the four traders involved could not show that they had acquired them legally. The NVWA seized the objects and filed official reports against the traders.

“Which animals and plants are protected and under which conditions they may be traded is laid down in the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species or Wild Fauna and Flora,” the NVWA said. And stricter rules may apply nationally. Ensure you know the legislation when buying or selling a plant or animal. “And don’t purchase if the seller can’t provide the required documents.”