Other secuestros

We heard less about crimes not related to narcotics, but they are just as serious, and — unlike narcotics smuggling — perhaps more damaging to Mexico.  From Lourdes Cardenas (El Paso Times):

Last Thursday, Mexican police federal officers rescued 10 tigers and jaguars that were captive in a restaurant and in a piece of private land at the touristic area of Cancun. According to press releases, the felines were visibly malnourished and in deplorable conditions, but they were used as an attraction for tourists.

Few months ago, officers from the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (Profepa) also rescued four lemurs, two foxes, one macaw and a California King snake from a mansion in Mexico City.

Rescues such as these are not rare in Mexico and they include a variety of species, from mammals to reptiles and endangered birds. Most of the animals are trafficked by organized crime networks that operate along the United States, Canada and Mexico, among other countries.

According to federal authorities, Mexico ranks third place among the countries where the trafficking of animals is more intense. The annual profits generated by this crime are only surpassed by the profits of drug and weapons trafficking.

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Some figures from Defenders of Wildlife of Mexico give an idea of the magnitude of the animal-trafficking problem: “It is estimated that between 65,000 to 78,500 parrots are caught illegally every year and from them, 77 percent die before they arrive into the hands of a buyer. The mistreatment these animals suffer explains the high mortality rate.

The illegal trafficking of animals is considered a crime punished with one and up to nine years in prison, but apparently that is not enough to stop a business that according to Defenders of Wildlife represents worldwide profits for more than $25 billion annually .

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Every time that a single parrot, a monkey, a reptile, a turtle, a jaguar, a wild cat or a tiger is taken out from its … the complete ecosystem is damaged, and in the future, we, the entire humanity, will pay the consequences too.