When it comes to buying wildlife products, it's a jungle out there!
And though exotic animals and plants appear enticing in foreign market places, the prospective buyer is entering a realm where the laws are complicated and the pitfalls are considerable.
It's a world where, in most cases, you're on your own!
Each year, more than 10 million Americans travel abroad, many of them to regions of the globe that support a flourishing trade in exotic birds and animals, fashionable jewelry and furs, and unique tropical plants. American globetrotters spend an estimated $14 billion while traveling, much of it for souvenirs, curios, and other collectibles commonly fashioned from foreign wildlife and plants.
While some of these products are legal to import into the United States, many others run afoul of Federal and international laws protecting animals and plants that are facing extinction. Often what begins as an enjoyable vacation
ends with a bitter lesson as these "illegal aliens" are confiscated, leaving the traveler with nothing more than a depleted bankroll and a receipt for seized property.
"The old adage, 'Let the buyer beware,' has never been more appropriate to a situation than it is to wildlife trade," says Frank Dunkle, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Federal agency responsible for the enforcement of the Nation's wildlife laws protecting endangered species.
