Near Mexico City, the Reino Animal Reserve has become home to many wild animals rescued from the clutches of private individuals.
The 53 ha Mexican park is home to beasts transformed into pets, sometimes by members of organized crime.
“Do not buy exotic animals”
This is the case of Frida, a Bengal tigress found in 2018 in the park of a restaurant in the capital.
Presented as an "attraction" by its owners, it lived attached in a very unsanitary environment.
Since her rescue, "she has recovered 100%," says Agustin Bastida, the park's marketing manager.
The residents of the park are "animals that people buy as pets, when they have to live in the open air, in large spaces", continues the manager.
“Let's not buy exotic animals.
They are not pets.
»
Profitable and severely punished traffic
Rich in biodiversity, Mexico is a land of exotic wildlife trafficking, whose clientele includes drug traffickers.
Trafficked species include exotic birds, reptiles, primates and felines.
The Mexican prosecutor's office claims to seize between 150 and 200 exotic animals each year.
A tiger or a lion trades between 1,000 and 5,000 dollars on the black market.
Mexican law allows the possession of legally purchased exotic animals.
Their illegal detention is punishable by nine years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
Organized crime has a lot to do with this traffic.
In 2007, the authorities discovered a house of drug traffickers with two jaguars, two tigers and two lions.
According to the UN Environment Program, global wildlife trafficking represents annual gains of between 7 and 23 billion dollars.
It is the seventh most profitable illicit trade in the world.
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