After animals are seized from illegal traffickers at travel hubs like LAX - what happens next? A new network helps connect them with safe homes.
Illegal wildlife trafficking is a multibillion-dollar business. It's high-profit and low-risk for smugglers - and Los Angeles is a hotspot in the global fight against the cruel trade that puts endangered animals' lives at risk.
"Wildlife trafficking is often tied to other serious crimes," said Manisa Kung, special agent in charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "It fuels criminal networks and impacts the security of our national and partner interests." "And so, the volume of animals that are really refugees from that illegal trafficking and trade is a huge problem for the Fish and Wildlife Service," said Dan Ashe of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Eyewitness News got an inside look at a Southern California smuggling hot spot - LAX - and the teams of Fish and Wildlife agents searching airline cargo for illegally trafficked wildlife or animal products. "Imagine him being a big X-ray that can pinpoint what we're looking for in any of these boxes," says Braxton's K-9 handler, Fish & Wildlife inspector Ray Hernandez.
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