Washington, DC, Dec 21, 2007

EXCERPT:  There are two parts to the illegal wildlife trade. One part is played by organized crime and their suppliers in the countries where wildlife is collected.  [Assistant Secretary of State Claudia] McMurray tells us about the other part of the problem.

“We also have a tremendous problem with demand.  There are two big markets for these products in the world.  The first is China – traditional Chinese medicine, tiger bone, rhino horn, lots of other things as well -- shark fins.  But the U.S. is number two, and we bring in an awful lot of pets, mostly.  Reptiles - turtles, snakes - rare birds from the Amazon, from other places. So we have a different sort of problem.”

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