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Agents Seize Bear Gallbladders at Airport


By Yereth Rosen


     ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Sept 26 (Reuter) - A routine check at the Anchorage International Airport turned up 60 bear gallbladders that were smuggled in with a shipment of reindeer antlers from Russia, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.

    The contraband dried gallbladders, apparently from Russian brown bears, were found stashed in boxes that were supposed to be holding 2,575 pounds of reindeer antlers valued at about $169,000, said Connie Barclay, a Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman.

    The discovery was made during a routine check conducted by Fish and Wildlife Service representatives at the airport, Barclay said.

    "It was just an unusual thing ... of all those bags, one of the first ones we looked in we did find the gallbladders," she said.

    The gallbladders and reindeer antlers, apparently bound for Los Angeles, were seized by the Fish and Wildlife Service, she said.

    Powder from dried reindeer antlers and bear gallbladders is believed to hold medicinal qualities -- including aphrodisiac powers -- according to ancient Asian theories.

    Trade in body parts of wild animals is prohibited under the Endangered Species Act, under international law governing protected species and under the federal Lacey Act, said Wally Soroka, a Fish and Wildlife Service special agent.

    Felony violations can result in up to five years' imprisonment and $250,000 in fines, he said.

    No arrests have been made yet in the case, Soroka said. "We're following up a number of leads," he said.

    Barclay said the estimated black market value of bear gallbladders is $20 per gram, and each of the seized gallbladders weighed three to six ounces, Barclay said.

    Trade in reindeer antlers is legal because reindeer are domesticated animals and not wildlife, Soroka said.
Reut19:40 09-26-95

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