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Kansas Zoos Receive Seized Tiger Pelts

Kansas Zoos Receive Seized Tiger Pelts

Kansas Zoos Receive Seized Tiger Pelts

Zoos in Topeka and Wichita are receiving tiger and lion pelts that federal agents seized from wildlife traffickers, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said today. The pelts were seized by agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who were enforcing federal laws aimed at protecting endangered animals and disrupting the global black market for hides and other parts of protected wildlife. Wildlife items forfeited or abandoned to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are stored in a 22,000-square-foot office and warehouse called the National Wildlife Repository. Many of the items are donated to educational facilities and nonprofit organizations to aid in teaching about endangered species. Fish and Wildlife Service agents used some of them in a sting operation in Wichita in 2018. A Wichita man pleaded guilty to making a deal to pay $8,000 to have two tiger pelts delivered to him. Agents retrieved the tiger pelts and seized a lion pelt from his home when they arrested him.

McAllister said the Justice Department estimates the international illegal trade in wildlife generates as much as $23 billion annually. In Kansas in recent years, federal agents have investigated wildlife trafficking cases including deer and elk that had been poached by guides and hunters, eagle feathers that were being unlawfully sold and Asian leopard cats unlawfully imported to Kansas. Federal prosecutors across the country also have pursued cases involving native turtles being exported to other countries.

 

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