Fauna, Flora, Scuba News, Underwater Environment

14 000 dead seahorses confiscated!

Listen to this article As a result of measures taken by the Dutch authorities against illegal traders in animals and plants, a huge amount of black-market products have fallen into the hands of the police in recent months. Among the goods seized were 14,000 dead seahorses, 3 elephant legs, a polar bear skin and 77kg

ByTomasz Andrukajtis

Published: December 8, 2017 - 16:24

Updated: July 22, 2023 - 16:06

Listen to this article

As a result of measures taken by the Dutch authorities against illegal traders in animals and plants, a huge amount of black-market products have fallen into the hands of the police in recent months.

Among the goods seized were 14,000 dead seahorses, 3 elephant legs, a polar bear skin and 77kg of scales from the extremely rare and endangered African anteater.

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Between 1 September and 5 November, a total of 59 different illegal products of plant or animal origin were seized at Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam Port and the Caribbean Netherlands. Among the items seized were many from the ocean. These included the aforementioned seahorses, turtle shell and live coral.

Many of those arrested have already been tried and some have been sent to prison. The person who smuggled 14 000 seahorses will spend six months behind bars. Those who got away with it and did not get prison sentences or suspended sentences were fined heavily.

The action carried out by the Dutch stems from an international agreement that aims to prevent illegal trade in animals, plants and related products. In the coming years, the Dutch police, customs and various inspectorates will continue to carry out actions in this regard

Source: nltimes.nl Photo: Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality

About author

Tomasz Andrukajtis

Editor-in-chief of the DIVERS24 portal and magazine. Responsible for obtaining, translating and developing content. He also supervises all publications. Achived his first diving certification – P1 CMAS, in 2000. Has a degree in journalism and social communication. In the diving industry since 2008.