2 April 2013 by Alayna
2013 marks 40 years of CITES the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. To commemorate this significant year, the Seized! gallery is showing a new, hard-hitting display of wildlife seizures.
On display are primate skulls and dried bats from the home of a retired couple in West Yorkshire. Hundreds of animal parts were discovered at their home, illegally imported from Indonesia and Africa. The couple were selling the specimens for a profit on eBay. Shocking imagery in the gallery shows their home filled with boxes of seized skulls.
Other objects on display include a grotesque rug made from the fur of the tiny Geoffroy’s cat, boots made from endangered crocodile skin and an incubator used to smuggle rare Peregrine Falcon eggs out of the UK.
This new display reflects the extent and scale of wildlife crime around the globe, online trade being one of the largest threats to some species existence. It also shows the risks that obsessive collectors will go to acquire the rarest specimens.
The Seized! gallery were assisted by Andy McWilliam of the NWCU (National Wildlife Crime Unit). NWCU work with the UK Border Force, CITES team and the Police to prevent illegal trade in wildlife.
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