It is being called "the biggest bear paw smuggling case in China" to date, so you know this is big news. Customs officials in Inner Mongolia have found 213 bear paws hidden in a Russian passenger van, the smugglers were trying to access the lucrative Chinese bear paw market. The paws are used to make bear paw soup. Two Russian suspects have been detained and are awaiting trial. gazeta.ua/articles/life/_dvoh-rosiyan-spijmali-na-kontrabandi-213-vedmezhih-lap-u-kitaj/502903 Russia is also now being recognised as a significant source country of bear bile for China, the largest exporter, as well as for Republic of Korea and Vietnam, two significant consumer countries. The hunting and trade of brown bears is legal in Russia; however since 1992 the legal import/export of bears and bear products has required a CITES permit. (Source: Pills, Powders, Vials and Flakes: The bear trade in Asia, a report by TRAFFIC southeast Asia, p54)
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:22:43 +0000
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