Tarantula breeding to curb illegal trade
Like 2 Dislike 0 Published on 30 Jul 2015
(24 Feb 2012)
AP Television
Guadalajara, Mexico. February 14th 2012
1. Medium black tarantula (Grammostola Pulchra) eating
2. Wide black tarantula (Grammostola Pulchra) eating
3. Close up black tarantula (Grammostola Pulchra) eating
4. Rodrigo Orozco arrives at Tarantulas de Mexico office
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Rodrigo Orozco, Tarantula Breeder.
"Many years ago I was living very close to the jungle in Acapulco, Guerrero. And I realised how big the problem of illegal trafficking of
tarantulas was, especially the Mexican species, the Brachypelma Smithi - the redknee tarantula."
6. Wide Andres Gonzalez, Jalisco state wildlife coordinator from the Mexican Ministry of Environmental and Natural Resources, takes lid off spider container.
7. Medium Andres Gonzalez picks up spider
8. Close up Andres Gonzalez shows a low weight spider
9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Andres Gonzalez, Jalisco State Wildlife Coordinator, Mexican Ministry of Environmental and Natural Resources:
"We are, so to speak, one of the production countries. So, the prices (of tarantulas) that many of the Mexican species can reach on the black market are very high, and the demand is also very high. The way for us to deal with this problem is to create breeding areas that in Mexico are called UMAs (Wildlife Management Units)."
10. Mid of spider incubator.
11. Close up of spider incubator.
12. SOUNDBITE. (Spanish) Rodrigo Orozco, Tarantula Breeder:
"I personally approached the illegal traders, or they even came to me. I told them 'instead of going yourself to the mountains or trying to find out how to get the tarantulas, come here! Take as many as you need!' This way I made it easy to them and I broke the illegal cycle."
13. Wide of shelf with infant tarantulas in containers
14. Close up of infant tarantulas in containers
15. Close up of container with older tarantula
16. SOUNDBITE. (Spanish) Rodrigo Orozco, Tarantula Breeder:
"Right now my production ranges between 5 to 6 thousand tarantulas a year, and we are trying to place them in the legal and illegal market. We are exporting them to the United States, and selling them here in Mexico."
17. Medium of teenage tarantulas in containers
18. Wide of teenage tarantulas in containers
19. Close of adult Brachypelma smithi tarantula
20. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Andres Gonzalez, Jalisco State Wildlife Coordinator, Mexican Ministry of Environmental and Natural Resources:
"Some tarantula species are highly sought after by collectors and their prices can get very high. This has led to two Mexican species in particular - the Brachypelma Smithi and Brachypelma Auratum that are native to the Jalisco state coast being now close to extinction."
21. Wide Rodrigo approaches to feed tarantula.
22. Close up Rodrigo opens tarantula container.
23. Detail picking up worm with tweezers
24. Close up Rodrigo drops worm to tarantula
25. Tarantula eats worm
26. SOUNDBITE. (Spanish) Rodrigo Orozco, Tarantula Breeder:
"Illegal traders can buy a tarantula for around 40 to 80 ( US$ 3 to US$ 6) Mexican pesos tops. And they sell it at flea markets for 250 or 300 Mexican pesos (USD $20 - USD $24). A 20 year old tarantula!"
27. Close up live food for tarantulas
28. Medium Tarantula de Mexico collaborator choosing live food for tarantulas
29. Close up hand of Tarantula de Mexico collaborator choosing live food for tarantulas.
30. Rodrigo places tarantulas back on shelves
31. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Andres Gonzalez, Jalisco State Wildlife Coordinator, Mexican Ministry of Environmental and Natural Resources:
"We are very aware that the illegal trafficking of wildlife is a real issue. We can't close our eyes to it and we can't tackle this problem in a direct way if we do not offer productive alternatives."
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