Silent crisis
• Authorities tight-lipped amid exotic animal smuggling cases • Several creatures put down amid dual threat to biodiversity, public health
Published:Sunday | June 22, 2025 | 12:12 AMCorey Robinson - Senior Staff Reporter
All 19 exotic animals discovered alongside nearly 4,000 rounds of ammunition during a police raid in Westmoreland earlier this month have been disposed of, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has confirmed. The animals were part of a growing illegal wildlife trade that authorities say is particularly active in Jamaica’s western parishes.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, neither NEPA nor police in Westmoreland and St Elizabeth – the sites of the two most recent seizures – are speaking openly about ongoing investigations into the illicit trade. NEPA has warned that such trafficking poses significant risks to Jamaica’s biodiversity and ecosystem.
“Even though that is my division, I would prefer if C-TOC speaks to that. It’s their investigation,” offered Senior Superintendent Othneil Dobson, directing queries last week to Anthony McLaughlin, head of the police’s Countertterrorism and Organised Crime Branch. McLaughlin’s cellphones repeatedly rang unanswered last Friday.
Anthony McKenzie, director of environmental management and conservation at NEPA, explained, however, that at least 11 of the animals, which included parrots and squirrels, were euthanised while the others had succumbed on their own.
The animals were reportedly seized during a June 2 predawn intelligence-driven operation by C-TOC along the shores of Whitehouse, Westmoreland. Two men were observed removing items from the shoreline, and when the cops swooped in, they fled, leaving behind the ammunition and two makeshift containers with the animals.
McKenzie said it is believed the contraband originated in Central America, through acquaintances with local fishermen.
“In some of these countries, there are even whole Jamaican communities,” he noted matter-of-factly.
As for the demand for the smuggled animals, McKenzie said, “It is difficult to know, but there is a demand. We have some formal zoos and persons who have been permitted to keep certain species, and sometimes, I think people try to sell these animals to them as well,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.
He dismissed speculation that these entities and individuals could be players of the trade “as they know that they can lose their licences”.
McKenzie said that as late as last Friday, NEPA had engaged the services of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Cyber Crime Unit to decipher a video of one individual advertising for sale a Jamaican iguana, a native species the authority has been working to boost their populations in sections of the island. “But somehow this guy has one, and he is on TikTok advertising it.”
McKenzie said at least 10 such videos were unearthed and investigated last year, while there have been three similar cases since the start of the year. He could not immediately say the status of those cases.
By law, animals and plants being imported into the island must meet requirements by NEPA, the Veterinary Services Department in the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Agriculture, and can only be imported by individuals authorised to do so. Among those are mainly zoos and safaris trails on the island.
Teresstrial biologist Damion Whyte described the neutralisation of the animals as bittersweet.
Imperative to control
“Based on my training, I understand why it is done,; but as a human being, I feel upset that people have placed us in the situation to do it,” said Whyte, noting that it is imperative to control the “very high risks” of diseases being spread among species that normally would not have interacted with each other. Controlling these diseases afterwards can be very costly.
“As a human being, I’m upset because the innocent animals never asked you to go into the bushes an go and catch it. Likewise, the risk also to our animals is big; and they also never asked you to put them in that situation either. That is where it is a double-edged sword.”
In St Elizabeth, Deputy Superintendent of Police Jamar Stoner explained that two Hondurans and a Jamaican held last month smuggling four monkeys, 12 parrots, and an ocelot cub into the island appeared in court last week. They were captured after the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard intercepted a vessel off the south coast.
The Hondurans pleaded guilty and were fined $10,000 each for illegal entry into Jamaica, while the matter involving the four monkeys, 12 parrots, and an ocelot cub was set for July 29 at the Westmoreland Parish Court. The two Hondurans are still in custody, he reported.
Stoner said he could not speak about the presumed market for exotic animals in his division until authorised to do so.
“What I can say is that investigations are ongoing to see if there is a local market,” he offered, explaining that the smuggling of wildlife into the island, although more widely broadcast these days, is not a new phenomenon.
In the meantime, McKenzie said the animals involved in the St Elizabeth cases are still in NEPA’s custody as part of ongoing investigations. These smuggled animals, McKenzie explained, could cause catastrophic problems for Jamaica’s wildlife if they are carriers of diseases.