This Tuesday (15), a couple was arrested on the island of Mallorca, Spain, suspected for the creation and sale of exotic cats.
According to a Civil Guard statement, 19 felines from different races were found, including a desert lynx and two servants, also known as Savannah cats.
“The detainees sold different species of animals, such as white tigers, black leopards, hyenas and tights, to different parts of the world over the internet,” police added.
Also according to the statement, the investigators seized several documents, such as more than 40 animal passports from Russia, Belarus and China, as well as two computers, three cell phones and two Pen-Drives.
The investigation began in March, when the Spanish Nature Protection Service (Spanish) received reports that a couple was creating exotic cats on a property in Mallorca before selling them online.
The operation also discovered a global criminal organization that included illegal creators, traffickers and veterinarians.
Authorities said the couple had an “extremely active” presence on social networks and that the creation operation was just “the tip of the iceberg.”
The couple are accused of being part of an international wildlife trafficking network that has smuggled most of them to the European Union from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine through the border between Poland and Belarus.
Among the species set up for sale was a leopardo leopard, with a starting price of 60 thousand euros (R $ 398 thousand), police said.
The seized animals, which included 16 mestizos, were temporarily housed in the Safari Zoo Son served in Mallorca. They will later be permanently resolved in the port city of Alicante, in the continental Spain.
These species require a lot of space and can also be dangerous to humans, the Civil Guard said.
As a result, traffickers began trying to cross species such as household lynx with domestic cats to produce exclusive but less dangerous animals, the statement added.
All seized animals are protected by the International Species and Wild Flora International Trade Convention on Extinction (CITES), an international agreement for the protection of certain species.
The couple are accused of crimes against wildlife, smuggling, falsification of documents and criminal conspiracy.
According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the European Union is believed to be the third largest illegal wildlife destination, as well as “a crucial traffic center for illegal wildlife trade.”
This content was originally published in a couple arrested in Spain for sale and creation of exotic cats on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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