Wildlife smuggling in New Zealand

The jewelled gecko, Naultinus gemmeus, has been a target for wildlife smugglers.

New Zealand has a number of rare and endangered species and there have been cases of wildlife smuggling.

The Wildlife Enforcement Group, a group of three government departments, collectively investigate smuggling to and from New Zealand. The three agencies are the New Zealand Customs Service, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Department of Conservation.[1]

New Zealand is a signatory to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) which was set up to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES is administered by the Department of Conservation.

In 1997 over 600 Australian birds were being smuggled through New Zealand destined for Europe, the United States, and Japan.[2]

Notable prosecutions

Prosecutions from smuggling wildlife can be made under the Trade in Endangered Species Act 1989. Some prosecutions for attempted smuggling include:

See also

References

  1. Multi-agency effort to catch wildlife criminals
  2. 1 2 TRAFFIC Oceania (April 1997). Trade in CITES-Listed Birds to and from New Zealand (PDF). Traffic Oceania. ISBN 9780958700818. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  3. The Hidden World of Smuggling
  4. "Convicted Gecko smuggler gets [sic - error in title on source page]". New Zealand Government. 1 February 2001. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  5. "TRAFFIC Bulletin Vol. 20 No. 1 (2004)" (PDF). TRAFFIC. 2004. p. 28. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  6. "Tourist caught smuggling wildlife in underwear". New Zealand Customs Service. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  7. Eriksen, Alanah May (30 June 2010). "Thousands for stolen geckos on European black market". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  8. Fox, Rebecca (7 May 2011). "Time to hit smugglers". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  9. Clarkson, David. "Andreas Hahn Pleads Guilty To Gecko Charges". The Press (4 May 2012). Retrieved 5 May 2012.

External links

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