- Title: RUSSIA: RUSSIA'S BOOMING BLACK MARKET FOR EXOTIC PETS
- Date: 17th May 1997
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (RTV -- ACCESS ALL) (MAY 18, 1997) 1. CU TOUCAN IN SMALL BIRD CAGE IN IN MOSCOW'S LARGEST OPEN-AIR PET MARKET, PTICHY MARKET 0.07 2. SV/CU OF EXOTIC BIRDS, SNAKES, REPTILES, AND CAYMAN BEING SOLD AT PTICHY MARKET (10 SHOTS) 0.50 3. MCU MIKHAIL, A PARROT TRADER AT THE MARKET, SAYING THAT THERE IS NO REAL BUSINESS HERE, AS IN EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY, AND WE CANNOT MOVE ONTO A CIVILIZED LEVEL BECAUSE THERE IS NO LAW ITSELF (RUSSIAN) 1.03 (MAY 17, 1997) 4. SV EXTERIOR OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDING IN CENTRAL MOSCOW 1.07 5. SV MEN HOLDING BOA CONSTRICTORS INSIDE PRIVATE FLAT 1.18 6. CU OF SNAKES AND REPTILES IN FLAT (6 SHOTS) 1.44 7. CU SCORPION IN FLAT 1.47 8. SV/CU OF SNAKES BEING FED MICE AND INSECTS (6 SHOTS) 2.10 9. LV EXTERIOR OF GOVERNMENT QUARANTINE HOLDING PENS IN MOSCOW OUTSKIRTS 2.14 10.SLV DOG BARKING 2.17 11.SLV MAN OPENING DOOR AND ENTERING BUILDING 2.22 12.SV/CU OF HUNDREDS OF ASIAN TURTLES IN QUARANTINE HOLDING PENS (6 SHOTS) 2.53 13.MCU SERGEI PLODKIN, MANAGER OF QUARANTINE SITE SAYING THAT PERHAPS THE LAW WILL BE ABLE TO CUT DOWN ON SMUGGLING, BUT THAT SMUGGLERS WILL ALWAYS FIND A WAY AROUND RESTRICTIONS (RUSSIAN) 3.15 (MAY 20, 1997) 14.LV PET STORE IN CENTRAL MOSCOW 3.18 15.CU/SV OF EXOTIC PETS BEING SOLD OUTSIDE STORE (3 SHOTS) 3.30 16.LV PEOPLE IN STREET 3.32 17.MCU MAN PLAYING WITH MONKEY DRESSES IN CLOTHES 3.39 17.CU//SV/LV FALCON, AND CONDOR ON MOSCOW STREET (3 SHOTS) 3.49 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 1st June 1997 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- City:
- Country: Russia
- Reuters ID: LVACPC60E69F9GVTA1DE3K5K2YGP
- Story Text: Tropical parrots, African monkeys, rare reptiles, and even endangered animals are being smuggled by the thousands into Russia's booming black market for exotic pets.
Moscow's pet markets are filled with exotic animals which are bought by ordinary Russians looking for an unusual pet and by the Russian nouveau riche who are willing to pay thousands of dollars to own a rare creature.
A toucan or parrot, for example, can cost as much as 3,000 U.S.
dollars (1,800 pounds sterling).
The market trading is often only the legal part of larger home-based operations selling rare or endangered animals.
The export and sale on many of these animals is officially banned by international agreement, but the Russian rich, no longer content with BMW cars and exotic vacations, are willing to bend laws in order to have a pet unlike any others.
Russian authorities, understaffed and facing numerous crimes such as murders and drug rings, have made little effort to combat illegal animal trade. There is scant control at Russian borders, making it an easy destination for delivering exotic animals or for shipping them onto Western Europe or the Middle East.
Russian customs officers have detained some shipments, such as thousands of Central-Asian turtles, but estimate that illegal animal trading will operate almost freely for the next coming years.
Authorities have no official count of the numbers of tropical animals which end up in the cold climate of Russia, but their numbers are definitely growing as monkeys, falcons, and condors become a regular sight on Moscow streets.
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