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    7. SMUGGLING REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS

    A lot of people have a taste for exotic pets, legal or otherwise. And when it’s “otherwise,” there are plenty of smugglers willing to skirt the law in order to fill the need and make big bucks. The crime can entail any number of exotic pets, but there is a particular focus of exotic turtles, snakes and other reptiles. Just last month, hundreds of reptiles were seized at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand, in the process of being smuggled out of the country. This included 340 turtles, 65 snakes, and assorted geckos, chameleons and more. Not only can the smuggling subject the animals to cruel and grueling conditions, but once introduced to their new homes, the reptiles can become hazards to the non-native ecosystems. In Florida right now, for example, a widespread python culling is underway to curb a surging population brought about by escaped and abandoned pet pythons invading the Everglades. (PETA)