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British Man Charged After Trying To Sell Leopard And Bear Parts From Home

British Man Charged After Trying To Sell Leopard And Bear Parts From Home


These days, selling and trading items online is common enough to not be worth a second look. Some trades can raise eyebrows, but others can cross lines in the time it takes to send an email. One man found that out the hard way; he’s facing criminal charges for the mere ownership of animal parts, let alone the trade of them.

The police in Cowdenbeath stormed the home and found the remains — bear and leopard body parts, and by extension the parts of endangered species. The plan was to trade those animal parts to willing buyers for major cash; wildlife trade has proven as lucrative as it is illegal, and even something as simple as bear bile fetches a high price.

The strange part of the case is that the crime — long since brought to the attention of the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the World Wildlife Fund — occurred in the UK. That isn’t exactly a prime location for trade or acquisition, considering that the nearly-extinct leopard is found in Africa and southeast parts of Asia. Still, one can only hope that for the animals’ sake that this is an isolated incident.