More plants and animals were poached in Colombia in 2010 than in previous years, reported newspaper El Tiempo Monday.
Authorities in confiscated 161 items per day in 2010, up from the 123 seizures per day in the last five years, said to Maria Marcela Vargas the director of the Environmental and Ecological Police.
Of the 270,660 plants and animals seized by authorities in between 2005 and 2010, most of them were reptiles and birds taken illegally from protected areas. Also among the seized contraband are shark bodies, furniture made from rare wood, and orchids.
Estimates say the numbers of seizures only show 40 percent of the flora and fauna procured by illegal means.
Illegal trafficking of animals and plants is a $17 billion per year market, according to reports conducted by the International Criminal Police Organization.
