Via the BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24946656Eight live big cats, tortoises, hippo teeth and a Rolls Royce upholstered with alligator skin were seized by UK border officials in a record year for endangered animal items.
More of these items were confiscated in the year up to April 2013 than in any other year, the Home Office has said.
One of the biggest shifts was the increasing use of these species in bodybuilding supplements and facial creams, a border official said.
A total of 690 items were seized.
That was up from 509 items the year before and included 3,890kg (8,570lbs) of medicine containing extracts of endangered species, 326 ivory items and 93 live animals.
Wildlife groups said they feared the problem will only get worse.
'Preserved snake'
The items were confiscated under the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (Cites).
Grant Miller, the senior officer on the Border Force Cites team, said: "We have everything from rhino horn to ivory to the taxidermy items and marine species that we see being brought back into the UK, both in passengers' luggage - but more importantly, and in large quantities, through freight."
More at link.
Bit grumpy at the preserved snake picture - it isn't preserved. You are supposed to drink it. Very popular in certain parts of the world. Tastes really bad - Antony Bourdain said so and I agree.
Seizing - good. Then what? Destroy them? Doesn't help the endangered species one iota. In fact, it kills off even more of them as the traffickers need to replace the lost shipment. Putting some teeth in the law might actually help - 6 months inside when you get caught? The rewards massively outweigh the risks.
