[ Birds Chirping ]
>> Good afternoon.
Welcome to our Facebook live broadcast from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Office
of law enforcement in Portland Oregon.
Today, we are joined by Shelia O'Connor,
the resident agent in charge for Oregon.
So, Shelia, what are the primary responsibilities
of the service office of law enforcement?
>> Well, we investigate federal wildlife law violations.
Anything from poaching to wildlife smuggling, trafficking, endangered species,
migratory birds, marine mammals, everything.
>> So, we hear that wildlife trafficking is a growing issue in the United States and abroad.
What is wildlife trafficking and furthermore, what are these things
on the table here in front of us?
>> Well, all of these are things that we have siezed during our law
enforcement investigations.
Either here in Oregon or elsewhere in the country.
So basically wildlife trafficking is the illegal buying, selling, importing, exporting,
killing of wildlife that's protected at one level or another.
It's endangered species, it's also, you traffic in migratory birds.
You can traffic in domestic wildlife, so there's a variety,
you can traffic in plants too by the way, insects.
So we protect everything, we try, anyway, to protect everything.
And so some of the things that are on the table here.
This sculpture is made from black coral.
Coral is protected by international treaty and so, some coral trafficking is legal,
some importing and exporting of coral is legal.
It just so happens that black coral, it is not legal.
And at one point in time this was an investigation that was done
out of our Houston and Miami offices.
At one point in time, we took delivery,
through an undercover investigation, of 40 tons of black coral.
>> 40 tons?
>> 40 tons.
That was just one shipment in the course of this investigation.
And it was called operation black gold because this black coral is so valuable.
Another example of coral, this is some red coral.
Now red coral tends to be protected at a higher level under CITES [assumed spelling].
>> Now what is CITES?
>> Sorry. CITES is the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species.
And it's an international treaty that represent 214 countries across the world
of [inaudible] including the U.S. It is similar to the endangered species act here in the U.S.
where we categorize plants and wildlife according
to their level of threat and endangered status.
As appendix one, two, or three and appendix one being the most protected,
appendix three is the least protected.
You can export, import, buy or sell if you have the right paperwork.
>> So, we're talking about wildlife trafficking
and is it a big deal here in the Pacific Northwest?
>> It is. It's a big deal everywhere in the United States,
and the Pacific Northwest is no exception.
In some of these things, you might recognize as species that are native to the United States.
This walrus, this is a walrus tusk and skull and some,
there are strict regulations on the harvest of walrus.
It's still possible but it's not lawful to sell.
In order to sell these products legally, they need to be,
the walrus needs to be lawfully taken and worked into a native Alaskan handicraft.
A raw walrus tusk, we call this raw when it's unworked that's not been made
into a native Alaskan handicraft, so it's not legal to buy and sell
in this state, in this condition I should say.
This is sperm whale, these items are made out of sperm whale teeth.
Sperm whales are native to the United States and this is a raw sperm whale tooth and this is one
that has been scrimshawed this kind of ink, tattooing, engraving is called scrimshaw.
Sperm whales are endangered and you cannot buy or sell, import or export these pieces anymore.
Sea Turtles, it just so happens that this carved sea turtle shell came
in from Palau [assumed spelling].
But sea turtles nest on every continent except the two north and south pole.
So, there's a big market for sea turtle shell products.
A lot of people have probably heard of tortoise shell jewelry,
it comes from endangered sea turtles.
This boot, this foot portion of the boot is made out of sea turtle leather.
And this was a product that was sold in Mexico that is sea turtle cream,
it's like hand cream, it's got sea turtle oil in it.
And sea turtles are endangered so you can't buy or sell, import, export.
You just can't do it anymore.
There's also a market, by the way, for the sea turtle meat and eggs.
And sea turtles, this is a very small shell.
Sea turtles grow to be the size of snow mobiles and so, you know, they live a long time,
they're fascinating animals and so we need to protect them and, you know,
we just need to be cognizant of where these things are coming from.
Let's see, what else do we have?
>> What's this little creature right here?
>> This?
>> Yes.
>> Ah. This is a pangolin.
The pangolin, right now, is the most heavily trafficked animal on the planet.
Pangolins are endangered, they live in Asia and Africa.
There is a market for the shells, oh I'm sorry, the scales,
for the meat and for the trophy items.
This shoe is also made out of pangolin leather.
And pangolins are the most heavily trafficked animal
on the planet right now and nobody knows about them.
And they --
>> So they're endangered as well?
>> They are endangered.
And when they, their defense mechanism is they, when they're threatened they curl
up into a little ball and these spines here, they are sharp!
They're like, you can just really cut yourself, even just here.
When they curl up into a ball, they're protected from the normal predator, except man.
They're still, they curl up into a little ball.
We just go, take a hook and then we pick them up and that's how they're really vulnerable
to illegal collection because of their defense mechanism.
>> So, Shelia, with summer here a lot of people start travelling --
>> Yes.
>> Often outside of the United States.
Are there any concerns that buyers should be aware of?
Because, you know, if I go to another country.
If it's legal to sell there, is it legal for me to bring back?
>> Not necessarily, that's a good question.
Not necessarily, first of all, just because something is for sale on shelves
in a foreign country doesn't mean it's legal.
This sea turtle cream, came in from Mexico.
This is on sale on pharmacy shelves all over Mexico.
This is against Mexican law too, it's not just against U.S. law.
This is against Mexican law as well.
So just because you can walk into a store and see it
for sale doesn't mean it's legal in that country.
And even if it is legal in that country doesn't mean it's legal in the United States,
to bring it back into the United States.
Let's see, this is another item that came in with a tourist, it's a tarantula
and it's been made into a paper weight.
Brazil actually has some good wildlife laws over there on the books,
they don't allow the export of this stuff.
>> Ok.
>> And what else?
This is another item that came in with a tourist and it's a belt.
Here, maybe this way is better, it's a belt made out of an iguana.
>> That still has a head on it.
>> Right, and the spine, it's incredibly impractical.
I don't even know how you would get this through your belt loops
but iguanas are protected by CITES.
And this came in without a CITES permit, so we seized it.
A big tourist item, that you can really get yourself in trouble with is elephant ivory.
This is a big elephant tusk so this is hard to hide in your luggage
and smuggle into the United States that way.
But we have a lot of smaller carved items, they're not out here on the table
but we have smaller carved statues, jewelry, beads, earrings, made from ivory.
Right now, the elephant butchering crisis is huge.
Every 15 minutes an elephant is illegally killed for its ivory.
Don't be part of that.
If you can't tell if this ivory is old or new, you don't know where it's coming from,
you don't know if it's from an elephant that was poached yesterday or from one that was,
you know, killed a long time ago.
And it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter anymore.
Elephants are being killed at a rate that's faster than they can reproduce.
Same as the rhinos, these are rhino horns.
Rhino horns are the most valuable substance on the planet right now.
And rhinos also are being killed at a rate that's faster than they can reproduce,
do the math, what will happen if that continues?
We know what will happen, they'll go extinct.
If we don't change the way we handle ivory, and rhino horn,
and other endangered species, they'll all go extinct.
Fastest way to drive a species to extinction is to commercialize it.
What else would like to talk about?
>> Well down here we have a box of walrus --
>> Yeah. These are walrus tusks.
I believe there are 17 tusks in here, all of these walruses were illegally harvested
but walruses have two tusks each.
17 tusks means, there's at least nine dead walruses represented here
by this trunk of ivory alone.
So --
>> And unlike deer, walrus don't lose their tusks --
>> Right. They don't shed their tusks.
Neither do rhinos shed their horns or elephants shed their tusks, they're extracted.
These animals are shot, the horns or antlers, sorry, horns or tusks are chopped off sometimes,
most of the time while the animal is still alive and this is brutal.
The poachers don't care about the elephants or the rhinos or the walruses.
They don't care, they're in it for the money.
Rhino horn is the most valuable substance on the planet.
Elephant ivory is also worth a great deal of money.
The research that I have done recently is 15 to $1,800 a pound.
This tusk here probably weighs 60 pounds, this is a bit more valuable
because it's a matched set, we have a second one.
And that would drive the value of this to, up to about maybe 2,000, $2,200 a pound.
Think of that 60 pounds, times two.
Rhino horn, these are worth about $1,500 a tusk.
>> The walrus.
And that, of course, depends on the weight and the condition.
Rhino horn I said was the most valuable substance on earth.
From the research that I've done recently, about 80 to $100,000 a pound.
This is a little bit more than seven pounds.
This is --
>> Wow.
>> Just shy of a million dollars.
>> And what's special about rhino horn?
Why do people want it?
>> There's really nothing special about the rhino horn, except to the rhino.
Some people believe that it can cure cancer and hangovers.
Can you imagine that there are people who are supporting the killing
of this wonderful rhino, to cure a hangover.
>> So what is a rhino horn made of?
>> It's made of keratin.
Keratin is hair and fingernails, that's all.
It's just very densely packed and if you look here
at the base you can see these little fibers.
That's just the keratin fibers pulling away a little bit.
>> Shelia, one thing you mentioned about the rhino horn, and we can maybe look
at this jaguar coat as an example.
Sometimes, you said, people will act like it's old and believe that makes it easier to --
>> Right.
>> -- bring in.
This jaguar coat says it was from, the retailer
who was selling this says it was from, the 1960s.
So, do I, can you believe that?
Does it make it legal?
>> So, first of all, this person is trying to sell you something
that is worth a great deal of money.
Why would you believe them?
So, they said that it was from the 1960s.
There is no scientific way, that I am aware of, that can verify that.
There might be permits, there aren't in this case of course.
So, number one, you shouldn't believe it if someone is trying to sell it to you.
Number two, it doesn't matter if this is from the 1960s.
Jaguars are still endangered and so you can't buy, sell, kill, import, or export.
And just so that everyone sees this, this is one jaguar coat.
But part of my job is, not to just identify what this.
All spotted cats, beware all spotted cats, by the way.
So I also need to determine how many animals, how many jaguars were killed to make this coat.
So, the hair on the spine of cats grows differently than the rest
of the fur, so that's what I look for.
So, here's some, here's the spine.
So that's one, oops, two, three, four, and five.
So there a minimum of jaguars that were killed to make this coat.
The number is probably higher because these coats are sewn and pieced together
from many different animals to get the most pleasing pattern.
So it could be, it's a minimum of five.
The actual number is probably much higher.
>> Wow.
>> This is Ocelot, same thing.
You know, take a look.
How many spines do you see?
Remember too that Ocelots are much smaller cats than jaguars.
And so to make a full length coat, probably double the number spines that you see here.
>> So, Shelia, as we wrap up.
What is the take away for people who might be out travelling this summer?
What advice do you have for them when they walk into a curio shop
and see something that's of interest?
>> Buyer beware.
Buyer beware.
Number one, most people, if they knew the brutality behind some
of this stuff wouldn't want to be part of it to begin with.
So, if you're concerned about it, you don't know the origin, don't buy it.
If you want a souvenir take a selfie.
Right? I mean, it's to the point where, you know,
we can either have wildlife trafficking or we can have wildlife.
Especially when it comes to endangered species.
So, buyer beware.
>> Thank you Shelia, appreciate your time today.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you everybody for joining us on Facebook live.