Summary
HeadingsSummary
HeadingsContents
IntroductionInternational ContactsLegislative EnforcementSurvey of Export and ImportSupplementary Data to the 1995 Annual ReportAnnex 8. The most important and interesting cases of failure to comply with CITES related to the Czech Republic in 1997.
Case 394
In February of 1997, 2 Czech citizens returning from Argentina were detained at the Prague Ruzyne airport. Their hand luggage contained tens of cacti being illegally imported into CR (Cactaceae, CITES I and II). CEI imposed a fine of 25 000 CZK on each of them for infringement against the CITES Convention.
Case 397
On March 31, 1997, a Czech citizen from Brno was detained at the airport in Lima (Peru) when he attempted to smuggle out of the country 35 live animals in his suitcase. The Peruvian customs officers confiscated 17 small apes (10 Pygmy marmosets - Callithrix (Cebuella) pygmaea, CITES II, 7 unidentified tamarins of the Saguinus species., CITES II, 2 of which were dead, and 18 reptiles (5 Black caimans - Melanosuchus niger, CITES I, 1 of which was dead, 1 Armoured teyou - Dracaena guianensis, CITES II, 2 Rainbow boas - Epicrates cenchria, CITES II and 10 reptiles not protected by the CITES but by Peruvian laws - Chelus fimbriatus). The animals were confiscated and a fine of 13 250 Sole was imposed on the Czech.
This Czech smuggler is well known amongst Brno breeders in that he regularly travelled to Latin America in the past and smuggled in protected animals, especially small primates. On April 25, 1996 he was returning from such a trip to Peru when he was detained in the transit area of the airport in Frankfurt am Main while attempting to smuggle 137 live apes and reptiles (see cases 317 and 319 in the Annual Report for 1996).
Case 398
On May 5, 1997, three Czech falconers were detained by the Slovak police while stealing eggs from the nest of a protected Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos, CITES II, a particularly protected species pursuant to Czech Act No. 114/1992 S.B. and pursuant to the Slovak nature protection Law) in the Chocske Mts. They removed two incubated eggs from the nest. During this, they were secretly filmed on video by nature protection volunteers. The Czechs confessed to the Slovak police that they intended to smuggle the incubated eggs into the Czech Republic and to attempt to incubate the eggs artificially in an incubator. The young birds would then be stated to be the progeny of eagles bred in captivity by Czech falconers, which would legalise their origin. The Czechs were deported from Slovakia with prohibition of entry for a period of ten years. The immediate damages incurred by the Slovak state was estimated at 480 thous. SK. The Slovak police charged the offenders with the criminal offence of damage to protected fauna pursuant to § 181c of the Slovak Criminal Law, carried out in collaboration, pursuant to § 9 par. 2. The offenders will be prosecuted on the basis of international agreements by the authorities in CR on the basis of their permanent place of residence.
Case 399
On May 10, 1997, two Slovaks were detained at the border crossing from Slovakia at Lanzhot, while attempting to smuggle 120 live reptiles into the Czech Republic without CITES documents. A total of 60 Common iguanas - Iguana iguana, CITES II, occurring naturally in Latin America and 60 Veiled chameleons - Chamaeleo calyptratus, CITES II, occurring naturally in Saudi Arabia and Yemen were confiscated. Both species are favoured by reptile breeders as they are relatively easy to breed in captivity. The price of one iguana in CR is about 450 - 1 000 CZK and the price of one chameleon is about 1 000 CZK.
Case 400
On May 16, 1997, the Slovak customs officers at the border-crossing point into the Czech Republic at Kuty found a consignment in the luggage compartment of a coach on the regular Athens - Prague line, containing 473 Hermann's tortoises - Testudo hermannii, CITES II, and Spur-thighed tortoises - Testudo graeca, CITES II, with a size from 5 cm to 20 cm. The consignment was not accompanied by the required CITES documents issued in Greece or Czech import permits pursuant to Act No. 16/1997 S.B. The tortoises were packed into the suitcase and one bag without sufficient ventilation, so that 12 of them were dead. The bus driver did not know anything about the consignment and none of the passengers admitted to ownership. It was clear from the nature of the case that the consignment was intended for CR. The Slovak customs officers confiscated the contraband and the tortoises were placed in the Bratislava zoo.
Case 406
On June 23, 1997 an Algerian attempted to smuggle from Algeria to CR 55 live Spur-thighed tortoises - Testudo graeca, CITES II, in a paper box. At the Prague - Ruzyne airport he was detained by the customs authorities in the "green" zone, intended for passengers without goods to declare. After being challenged, the foreigner produced a xerox copy of an Algerian CITES permit, which was obviously invalid. The lack of validity of the permit was later confirmed by the CITES Secretariat. The tortoises were confiscated by the CEI bodies and a process on imposing of a fine for infringement against Act No. 16/1997 S.B. was commenced against the foreigner, who resides in Prague.
Case 408
On September 18, 1997, a Czech tourist from Ostrov nad Ohri was detained at the airport in Lima, Peru; his luggage was found by the Peruvian police to contain 31 live protected animals:
Case 409
On September 26, 1997, the Dutch customs officers at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam detained a twenty-three year old Czech citizen from Zlin and confiscated 26 small apes (15 of which were already dead), 15 caimans and 62 tortoises. The Czech, who was travelling from Peru to the Czech Republic was imprisoned in Holland and charged with infringement against the CITES Law and the criminal offence of cruelty to animals. He was later sentenced to 4 months in jail.
Further information indicated that the consignment contained the following animals:
Case 421
On November 18, 1997 the customs office in Pardubice gave notice of a postal package from the Republic of South Africa containing about 10.5 kg of live succulent plants. The CEI inspectors discovered that the plants included about 100 rare endemic succulents of the Anacampseros genus (CITES II) of the Portulacaceae family with an estimated price of about 35 thousand CZK. It was later found that these consisted of 177 plants of the Avonia quinaria ssp. alstonii species (synonym Anacampseros alstonii) and another at least 20 such plants that were, however, attacked by mould. The consignment was found to contain a further 5 live plants of the Anacampseros baeseckei species (synonym crinita).
The expediter in South Africa and the recipient in CR consisted of two cactus collectors who had been detained in December of 1996 in Mexico for illegal collection of cacti (see case 384 in the Annual Report for 1996). The protected succulents from South Africa were confiscated pursuant to Act No. 16/1997 S.B. and the Czech who sent the consignment from South Africa was fined 9 000 CZK, with the obligation to pay administrative fees of a further 1 000 CZK.
Cases 424, 425, 526
On August 30, 1997, three German citizens exported cacti and succulents (54 items, 34 taxons, CITES II) from CR to Germany without the pertinent CITES documents of origin. The German customs officers in Bayrisch Eisenstein confiscated the cacti. One of the Germans turned to the Ministry of the Environment of CR with a request for issuing of retrospective CITES documents stating that the cacti were obtained from Czech cactus growers. The Ministry of the Environment discussed the matter with the German CITES Management Authority, which stated that the cacti were confiscated pursuant to the German law on infringement against the CITES, and that the decision is not reversible. The Czech CITES Scientific Authority stated that Echinofossulocactus, Coryphantha guerkeana, Coryphantha maiz-tablasensis, Ferocactus peninsulae, Mammillaria pilcayensis and Pachypodium are not frequently found in Czech collections of succulent plants and that some of them are grown in this country only rarely. The remaining species are grown in CR quite frequently. However, the difficulty remains in the fact that, probably since the 1980's, a number of Czech cactus growers have been undertaking expeditions to Mexico and Latin America and have been smuggling protected plants collected in nature, especially cacti (cases 383 and 384 in the Annual Report for 1996). These new, rare species are then sold to collectors in Western Europe.
Case 429
On November 18, 1997, the German customs officers in Schirnding (Czech border-crossing point Pomezi nad Ohri near Cheb) confiscated a collection of butterflies:
Case 430
On September 21, 1997, a Romanian citizen exported a total of ten live exotic birds from the Czech Republic without the pertinent CITES documents. At the customs office in Breclav the consignment was detained by the customs authorities and later confiscated by CEI for infringement against Act No. 16/1997 S.B.
The following birds were confiscated:
Case 439
On December 6, 1997, a Slovak citizen from Bratislava attempted to smuggle 16 live Spur-thighed tortoises (Testudo graeca, CITES II), from the Czech Republic. The Slovak was detained by the customs officers in Lanzhot where he had not declared the tortoises to customs. The Slovak did not have a CITES permit and was not able to demonstrate legal origin for the tortoises. He said that he had purchased the tortoises at the herpetological bazaar in Prague. A CEI inspector was called in and confiscated the tortoises pursuant to Act No. 16/1997 S.B.
Spur-thighed tortoises live in the Balkans, around the Mediterranean and in Asia Minor. They have recently been decimated at many locations through collection for sale to tourists and for export to Europe. The import of these tortoises into the European Union is prohibited for reasons of their protection in Europe by the Bern Convention (pursuant to EU Directives, tortoises of the species Testudo graeca, T. hermanni and T. marginata are considered to be CITES I species). They have been and apparently still are being imported into CR, mostly illegally. Since 1992 ME has not issued any permits for import pursuant to CITES. Tortoises are subject to obligatory registration pursuant to Act No. 16/1997 S.B.
Case 442
On November 26, 1997, during customs control, the delayed luggage of a man from Stary Mesto u Uherskeho Hradiste was found to contain a live Blunt-tailed sand boa (Eryx johnii, CITES II, occurring in Afghanistan, India, Iran and Pakistan). The man stated that he obtained the snake as a gift in India. However, the snake was said to have been placed in his luggage without his knowledge and in his absence. In the light of the lack of CITES documents the snake was confiscated by CEI inspectors for infringement against Act No. 16/1997 S.B.
Case 443
In the CITES-L internet discussion club an article appeared from the Spanish daily "La Vanguardia" from May of 1998, according to which a Czech was detained about a year ago by Spanish customs officers during an attempt to smuggle 130 live reptiles from Morocco. Some of the reptiles were dead and a total of 100 died subsequently as a result of disease and poor condition. Approx. 30 Black spiny-tailed lizards (Uromastyx acanthinurus, CITES II) remained. The Spanish parties are attempting to return the reptiles to Morocco and to release them in nature.
On the basis of a request from ME, this information was confirmed by the Spanish CITES Management Authority: the case occurred in March or April of 1997, a Czech citizen from Zlin was detained and a large number of spiny-tailed lizards (Uromastyx spp., CITES II) were confiscated.
Case 469
On October 5, 1997 a Polish citizen attempted to export a total of 59 parrots from CR to Poland across the Chotebuz - Cieszyn - Boguszowice crossing point; of these, 41 were CITES specimens without the pertinent documents. Two of the birds were dead. The goods were confiscated by the customs officers and CEI imposed a fine on the Pole for infringement of Act No. 16/1997 S.B. In investigation of the misdemeanour, it was taken into account that the Pole was exporting parrots that were obviously bred in captivity so that there was no danger to wild nature.
The consignment consisted of the following species from the CITES II Appendix:
The complete report