"Wildlife Smugglers Test Their Skills, Even at the Airport" (4/6/07 p. A13)

It's almost unreal, even humorous that someone actually stuffed a pygmy monkey down their pants in an effort to sneak the animal through the airport. How ridiculous and stupid that person must have felt after he was caught?

Maybe if this would have been the one and only time that this happened, however, the smuggling of rare animals and species through airports is becoming a growing problem. Smugglers are bringing everything from rare butterflies, elephant tusks and sea turtle eggs through airports.

As reported by The Times, wildlife smuggling is the nation's second-largest black market, just behind narcotics. The ethics behind this article isn't just the fact of how wrong wildlife smuggling is, but also that it is unknown to officials how many animals have actually made it through airports and out into the world.

After 9/11 airport security increased, which, of course, everyone knows. However, airport security officials are looking for weaponry and harmful substances, not monkeys down passenger's pants.

In 2002, a Palm Springs man was arrested on charges related to the smuggling of two Asian leopard cats into the airport in a backpack. The individual he was traveling with was also arrested when large birds or paradise came flying out of his luggage; also in the luggage were other birds and 50 rare orchid bulbs. How stupid can people get?

Airport officials are saying that displays like the those that I've discussed are a rather hilarious visual. I think they need to put aside the laughter and look more closely at how serious this problem could become. These animals, insects, etc. are enduring an 18 hour trip shoved in socks and pants without going undetected by flight attendants or airport security they got past in the first place. Of course, it is argued that flight attendants are staring at passenger's crotches in search of illegal imports, however, what if next time there is a bomb shoved in the passenger's pants?

This problem is recognized, now it needs to be diminished. It is impossible to think that everything can be taken care of and will vanish completely, however, security needs to be stepped up again, just this time in the monkey in the pants department.

Article by: JENNIFER STEINHAUER