Bear trade in the Czech Republic: an analysis of legal and illegal international trade from 2005 to 2020

Abstract

There is a large demand for bear parts in the Czech Republic, and this drives legal and illegal trade in various bear species sourced from outside the country. From 2010 to 2018, the Czech Republic reported legal imports of 495 bear parts, mostly as trophies from Canada and Russia. Illegal trade in bear parts and derivatives for medicine as well as trophies persists as evidenced by the number of seizures made by the Czech Environmental Inspectorate during this same period. From January 2005 to February 2020, 36 seizures involving bears, their parts and derivatives, were made totalling 346 items. Most cases involved trophies (skins, skulls, taxidermies) predominantly from Canada, Russia and the USA, followed by traditional medicines claiming to contain bear parts mostly from Vietnam and China. Three cases involved souvenirs or jewellery, and one case involved live bear cubs. The greatest number of seizures made originated from Vietnam, followed by Canada and Russia. As all countries involved in these incidents are Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), there is a mechanism in place to jointly tackle this illegal trade. International collaboration is essential if efforts to end the illegal international trade in bear parts and derivatives are to succeed.

Bears in the Russian Far East illegally exploited for meat, medicine and trophies

“…This is consistent with the findings of Foley et al (2011) and Burgess et al (2014) in their assessment of the bear trade in Asia. While China and South Korea were implicated as primary destinations of illicit gall bladders and paws in this study, Russian sourced bear parts and medicinal derivatives have also been seized in/ smuggled to Australia and New Zealand (Cassey et al 2021), Czech Republic (Shepherd et al 2020), Japan (Kumi and Sakamoto, 2002), Malaysia (Lee et al 2015), Vietnam (Willcox et al 2016) and Poland (Gomez et al in prep), indicating the potential global nature of the illegal trade of bear parts from Russia (Figure 3). Of further interest, China is not only a key destination of bear parts in trade but also a key source of bear parts found in trade in Southeast Asia (Foley et al 2011, WAP 2018).…”

“…Nevertheless, brown bear trophies are illegally exported from Russia as well. A recent study on the illegal bear trade in the Czech Republic found that Russia was one of the largest exporters of bear trophies to the Czech Republic both legally and illegally (Shepherd et al 2020). Similar findings were noted in Poland (Gomez et al, in prep).…”

“…The paws are in greatest demand and are often illegally sourced from wild and from bear farms (WAP 2017, WWF 2020). Trophy hunting is another large market that results in the trade of bears for their skins, teeth, claws, heads, skulls, taxidermy mounts, etc (Gaius 2018, Shepherd et al 2020). To a lesser extent, live bears are captured for the pet trade and for wildlife exhibitions and performances, including bear baiting (a bloodsport involving chained bears attacked by trained dogs) and dancing bears (D’Cruze et al 2011, Gupta et al 2007, Livingstone et al 2018).…”

An analysis of Canada's declared live wildlife imports and implications for zoonotic disease risk

“…Specifically, Canada has been identified as one of the largest (re)exporters of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)-listed species that are carriers of at least one zoonotic disease (UNEP-WCMC and JNCC 2021). Canada also plays a role as an intermediary, for example in relation to trade in marine aquarium animals and live hoofstock to the US (Rhyne et al 2017;Smith et al 2017), the legal and illegal trade of bear parts to countries such as the Czech Republic (Shepherd et al 2020), Australia, and New Zealand , and the trade in ball pythons (Python regius) as exotic pets from West Africa (D'Cruze et al 2020c). The overall average annual financial value of the legal live wild animal trade in Canada from 2016 to 2020 was estimated at $85.7 million CAD for exportations and $100.6 million CAD for importations (Government of Canada 2022).…”

The tide of tiger poaching in India is rising! An investigation of the intertwined facts with a focus on conservation

“…The illegal products from other tiger-ranging countries make their way to China via an international trading network. Trafficked tiger products are primarily used as decorative materials or as an ingredient in Chinese traditional medicines (Shepherd et al, 2020 ; van Uhm, 2020 ; Wong, 2019 , 2020 ) and the production of wine (Coals et al, 2020 ; Wong, 2016 ). Skin, claws, and teeth are part of fashion items, home decor, jewellery, holy materials, and the symbol of bravery.…”