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Newsletter April 2007

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Fossil Trafficking in Peru Increases Drastically

“Peru is a country rich in fossil beds and we are seeing an increase in the trafficking of this wealth,” says Javier Vasquez, director of the recovery department at Peru’s National Culture Institute. In only the first few months of 2007 customs agents in Peru have made 947 fossil seizures, more than double the 461 made during all of 2006. The fossils, which are as old as 12 million years, include fish, shells and shark teeth.

Juan Leon, an archeologist at the National Museum in Lima, displays a 12 million year old shark tooth that was seized from traffickers.

Fossil trafficking is a growing problem in Peru because these items are highly valued in foreign countries. There is also currently no penalty for the crime to deter traffickers. Nevertheless, fossils are considered national patrimony and are not allowed to leave Peru.

The fossils’ usually small size and light weight makes it easy for them to be taken out of the country. Many of the recent seizures were being mailed to the United States inside simple, nondescript boxes. Fossils are also found inside luggage, and traffickers even carry them on their bodies if the item is very small.

A fossil discovered in a Peruvian fossil bed

Source: Sci-Tech Today, MSNBC

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