He sold them around the world: the Pablo Escobar of butterflies condemned in Toulouse
By Thibaut Calatayud
Published on
That’s not common. On Wednesday April 13, 2022, the courts sentenced a resident of Haute-Garonne to a three-month suspended prison sentence for trafficking… butterflies !
Captures in the Pyrenees and the Alps
This “Butterfly Escobar” captured these Lepidoptera in the Pyrenees and the Alps.
The goal? Collectors in order to resell them to the highest bidders. For this, the individual posted ads online. A problem when we know that the capture, transport or trade of these insects constitute offenses against the environmental code.
His way of proceeding has not escaped the radar of the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB). Investigators sifted through these announcements and were able to find his trace.
Butterflies are in danger
According to the OFB, butterfly populations are in sharp decline due to several factors: the destruction of habitats, light pollution which disturbs its (mostly) nocturnal insects, intensive agricultural practices, road traffic and the collection in the natural environment. For this, “their protection is a major issue”, insists the Office.
74 butterflies found at the suspect’s home
The suspect’s home was immediately searched. Unsurprisingly, a colossal collection of butterflies was found at the scene.
“Different species have been reported, the Apollon butterfly in regression in our mountains, the Damier de la Succise, the Isabelle, or even a specimen of the recently recorded Magicienne Dentée, the only French orthopter listed on the list of species in the European Directive. Habitats. Some of these species of butterflies are native or even endemic to our mountain ranges,” explains the OFB.
In total, 74 specimens of 11 protected species have been seized. Notebooks discovered at the trafficker’s home made it possible to locate the places of capture of these butterflies
The collection will go to the Museum of Toulouse
The rest of the investigation will make it possible to delete that the individual had sold 917 insect specimens including 115 protected speciesin just three years and in 11 different countries.
A large-scale traffic which was therefore punished by a three-month suspended prison sentence. The convicted person will also have to pay a fine of 500 euros in damages to the association. France Nature Environment Midi-Pyreneess.
The confiscated seals will be returned to the Toulouse Natural History Museum.
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