Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
A RUSSIAN pair accused of trafficking in exotic animals has been arrested on Mallorca.
The man, 48, and woman, 46, sold protected species internationally via social media including a panther with a price tag of €60,000.
A third person, an Israeli man, is still being investigated.
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Operation Kotach will be launched in March 2020 to take down traffickers.
Guardia Civil agents from the Seprona environment unit raided the home of a couple, and found 19 cats in an outdoor caged enclosure without a license to keep them.
The servals are small, wild cats that are native to Africa. Caravals are a hybrid between a caracal male and a serval female.
Breeding took place on the plot with servals and caracals fetching up to €8,000 each while hybrids sold for up to €18,000.
The animals have been temporarily housed at the Son Servera Safari Zoo. They will be permanently relocated on the mainland to the Primadomus centre for rescue in Alicante.
Seized were more than 40 animal passports as well as three mobile phones, two computers and two memory sticks.
Officers discovered that caracal and serval breedings were only the tip-of-the iceberg for an international trading network dealing in protected species, including white tigers. black leopards, hyenas, and pumas.
Smuggled animals, often for sale, were brought into the European Union by breeders, carriers, veterinarians and others.
Social media accounts of the couple included white tigers. They also listed clouded lynxes. hyenas. black leopards.
A sum of €60,000 was requested for a cloudy panther.
The Guardia Civil said the couple’s social media sites were ‘extremely active’ with people from around the world interacting with them.
The Russians have been charged with animal abuse as well as smuggling. document forgery and belonging to criminal groups.
