U.S. trade officials believe that groups benefiting from the poaching include the militant Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda and South Sudan, the Janjaweed comprised of Sudanese Arab tribes, and al-Shabab, a jihadist group based in Somalia.
The U.S. government is stepping up its crackdown on the illegal trafficking of wild animal products across the nation’s borders, saying some may be linked to terrorists, federal officials said Monday.
“Poaching in Africa is funding terrorist groups,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told a news conference at Kennedy International Airport.
He said such illegal trade is a threat to global security because it’s driven by criminal elements, including terrorists using profits from items such as rhinoceros horns and elephant tusks to finance their activities.
On display in an airport cargo warehouse operated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection was a collection of wildlife products seized at Kennedy – from ivory disguised to look like a wooden statue and the stuffed heads of a lion and leopard to handicrafts, artworks and musical instruments hiding animal parts.
The single priciest item was a rhino horn. It fetches $30,000 per pound – or about 30 percent more than its weight in gold.
Paul Chapelle, the agent in charge of New York for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said one horn case resulted in 16 arrests, including that of a mobster from Ireland now serving 13 months behind bars.
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