Wednesday 1 August 2018

Delicate Dangers?

There is an interesting account in the National geographic about the often illegal trade in dead butterflies (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/08/butterfly-catchers-collectors-indonesia-market-blumei/). What stands out for me is the fact that conservation areas in some countries appear to be routinely raided for specimens with little official complaint (even tolerating local markets where protected species are traded); how little the 'rustlers' get for their specimens and how much some industrialists, in places like Japan (reportedly enthusiastic for butterflies), will pay for them. Personally, I cannot see why a dead specimen has greater cachet than a nice digital image.

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