Estimated read time: 1-2
minutes
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Zoo is now home to animals rescued from illegal wildlife trade thanks to a partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The Wildlife Confiscations Network — launched in October — created a group of facilities that can provide immediate care and housing for animals trafficked through the U.S.
“Wildlife trafficking is based in greed. These animals are being trafficked all around the world, basically for profit. And we’re seeing criminal syndicates who are developing around the trafficking of animals, and so it takes a huge collaboration to deal with it,” Dan Ashe, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said.
The program was launched in southern California, a place considered an epicenter for trafficked wildlife. Between 2015 and 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had to find care and homes for nearly 50,000 trafficked animals linked to over 800 criminal referrals, according to the Reuters video.
The animals aren’t handled carefully in many cases, some even being stored in luggage, wrapped in cellophane, packed into tubes like toilet paper rolls often with their mouths taped shut to keep them from making noise.
Most of the rescued animals will stay at zoos or aquariums, though some may be reintroduced into the wild, depending on their condition, according to the organization.