Illegal Wildlife Trade: 11 Of The Dumbest Animal Smugglers (PHOTOS)

Trafficking of illegal wildlife is often said to be the most profitable trade in illegal products, behind drugs and weapons. While those numbers are difficult to track and some criticize the estimates as unreliable, the fact still remains: Illicit animal smuggling is a cruel and careless practice that destroys the environment, threatens species already critically endangered and lucratively bankrolls criminals.

According to Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network, smuggled animals are often transported in horrendous conditions, and captors utilize harmful techniques to catch their prey -- like illegal logging and cyanide fishing -- that devastate the native regions' natural resources and cripples efforts to preserve biodiversity.

We've already shown you 7 species endangered by internet trading, and 11 threatened exotic pets not to buy, now here are the 11 dumbest attempts at smuggling wildlife.

Let's be honest -- we don't think anyone trying to illegally trade in protected animals is smart, but from stuffing lizards in underwear to selling endangered species over eBay, these people certainly take the cake!

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Songbird Socks

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46-year-old Sony Dong was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in 2009 for attempting to smuggle 15 songbirds from Vietnam. Who would have thought that feathers and bird poop on his feet would give him away? Dong used a custom cloth contraption that secured the birds to his calves via buttons, according to the AP.

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46-year-old Sony Dong was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in 2009 for attempting to smuggle 15 songbirds from Vietnam. Who would have thought that feathers and bird poop on his feet would give him away? Dong used a custom cloth contraption that secured the birds to his calves via buttons, according to the AP.

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This Animal Smuggler

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Foolish Complete Imbecile

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5 Dumbest Animal Smugglers

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Comments

[mairs]

12:44 PM on 09/28/2010

"Federal agents became suspicious when large birds of paradise flew out of Cusack's luggage".

*snork*

[LeeCalif]

06:31 PM on 09/22/2010

This is interesting :

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/wildlife-butcher-ted-nugent-caught-in-illegal-hunt

[LeeCalif]

06:30 PM on 09/22/2010

Forget meaningless monetary fines.

I suggest 2 fingers donated to science from each caught smuggler.
Each time. Two more fingers. Then toes, if need be.

[MurCal]

11:33 AM on 09/20/2010

You can call these stupid ideas, but the fact that they went to such trouble may suggest that some people are having success doing this -- probably far too many of them.

[tjconkster]

10:31 AM on 09/20/2010

Is that a snake in your pants.....or are you just happy to see me?

[Jonathan Robert]

03:29 PM on 09/19/2010

An excellent book about this topic is The Lizard King by B Christy.
It talks about the market in the Us during the last 40 years and the connections many of these smugglers had with the underworld. It goes without saying that the treatment of animals if poor, but these people have little concern for other humans let alone other animals.

http://green-cures.blogspot.com

[FiscalConservativesUnite]

03:28 PM on 09/19/2010

The suitcase idea never works..

[wackette]

01:03 PM on 09/19/2010

Death penalty after 2 weeks of torture... would solve the problem.

[Bunny007]

01:39 PM on 09/19/2010

Many of these countries already have SERIOUS sentences like that for smuggling drugs. They need to just realize how much these innocent, voiceless animals suffer at their hands, and put in place the same stiff penalites including life in prison or death for anyone caught smuggling animals.

I am serious. This is horrible behond belief!

[lmlynley]

09:32 PM on 09/22/2010

I am with you - we are over-populated as it is. Seeing off this sort of sub-par human is doing the worls and the beings in it a favour.

[no exit]

12:15 PM on 09/19/2010

There wouldn't be a trade in exotic animals if people weren't buying them. An equal amount of contempt belongs to both.

For one thing, the fines and jail time is not nearly enough to deter these people. They make an immense amount of money for the few animals, birds, reptiles that actually survive their smuggling attempts. I have seen wire cages crammed so full of parrots that they were unable to move or turn their heads. Most of them do not survive. Terrified birds do not make a sound. It is heartbreaking to enter an absolutely silent warehouse with cages stacked up with living creatures being tortured so rich people can have their egos flattered and filthy smugglers can get rich.

I have been in the mansions of wealthy people who have magnificent parrots that were yesterday flying above the trees in the Amazon and are now chained to a perch for the oooo's and ahhhhh's that stroke the egos of the wealthy. They pay thousands of dollars for those birds depending on how rare (endangered) they are.

The same is true of all smuggled creatures. Sickening.

[Bunny007]

01:36 PM on 09/19/2010

Thanks for sharing. This is a sickening problem.

We can only pray the airports in these countries step up their vigilance!

These poor animals.

[jozzie]

11:56 AM on 09/19/2010

People are waçko.
Just imagine how many poor animals aren't saved.

[DrJohnnySkeptic]

08:53 AM on 09/19/2010

Graham and Norah Pitchforth should be skinned alive and thrown into a cellar filled with salt.

[WorkhelpWorkhelp]

04:26 AM on 09/19/2010

Comment not approved.

[SlowBurn]

02:59 AM on 09/19/2010

Awful, awful, awful, on so many levels. On the other hand, hopefully karma will come back to bite one of these smugglers!

[jozzie]

11:58 AM on 09/19/2010

Other people's bad karma also effects other people. You have the notion that karma is way more intelligent and efficient than it really is. Life is sloppy.

[KIVPossum]

01:02 AM on 09/19/2010

federal agents became suspicious when large birds of paradise flew out of Cusack's luggage


lol guess that is a tip off

[Jennifer Hagan]

10:09 AM on 09/22/2010

Major tip off. People don't realize that you can really mess up the ecosystem in places by introducing wildlife that shouldn't be there. That is why we have these rules in place. I think most of this should bring charges of animal cruelty. Who wants to be strapped to someone's funky body or in luggage with their day old underwear? I sure as heck wouldn't want to be.

[KIVPossum]

10:45 AM on 09/22/2010

Check today's article about invasive species. Some strange stuff loves Florida.

Hope you are having a great day

[bisbeeornotbisbee]

11:07 PM on 09/18/2010

How do you ever get a skink out of your underwear?