Raid turns up dozens of stuffed protected animals in Brabant

A joint operation by Interpol and Dutch government organisations to combat the illegal trade in protected animals and plants has uncovered over 90 stuffed animals at the premises of a 24-year-old trader in Brabant.

Inspectors from the products standards agency NVWA and RVO Dutch enterprise agency found large quantities of illegally stuffed animals, skeletons and cadavers at the man’s premises. They included a black bear, lions, monkeys, birds of paradise, vultures and cockatoos, as well as dozens of dead animals in a freezer.

The man was unable to prove he had come by them legally, officials said, and some of the documents he had were forgeries.

The value of the impounded animals is around €200,000, the RVO estimated. The public prosecutor has since started legal procedures against him.

The intervention was part of the global Operation Thunder, which has been carried out annually since 2017 by Interpol and the World Customs Organization (WCO). This year’s month-long operation resulted in the seizure of nearly 30,000 live animals and the identification of 1,100 suspects worldwide.

In the Netherlands officials have also seized sharks’ fins, pills, powders and potions made with protected plants in packages, airplane holds, and in travellers’ luggage.

The objects will taken to a secret location where most will be destroyed, officials said.