08/08/06 Black Market

Naturally drugs are the first thing that come to mind when I hear the word "Black Market or "illegal global trade". It is no surprise that second on the list, behind illegal drugs, are guns and weapons. The world is learning a hard lesson on just how pervasive the weapons trade is as evidenced by the repertoire of arsenals now employed by the terrorist groups Hamus and Hezzbulah. Yet I bet that number three on the global illegal trade list would stump the majority of us who live pretty oblivious here in the US to the fact that trading in endangered wild animals and plants now exceeds over 10 billion a year making it the worlds third largest source of illegal funds not to mention the havoc it wrecks on the environment. In a recent conference in Bejing, wildlife officials discussed tougher punishment of poachers and smugglers. China came under fire for it's inconsistencies and the fact that those who poach protected species often go unpunished while those who smuggle endangered animals can end up netting a ten year jail sentence.