At the border with Poland, border guards discovered 77 containers containing exotic animals and insects
A Kia Carnival, driven by a 37-year-old resident of the Rivne region, arrived at the ‘Krakivets–Korchova’ border crossing point to enter Ukraine.
To go through customs, the driver chose the ‘green corridor’ lane for simplified customs clearance.
During an inspection of the vehicle, customs officers and border guards discovered 77 containers containing exotic animals and invertebrates in the boot.
The live creatures found included lizards, frogs, snakes, spiders, millipedes, beetles and other insects. Some of the animals originated from North and South America, South-East Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Australia.
The driver explained that he was transporting a ‘consignment’ from Germany, which he was due to deliver to Chernivtsi for a local exotic animal breeder.
He did not produce any permits authorising the transport of the animals.
A report was drawn up regarding this incident for a breach of customs regulations under Part 3 of Article 471 of the Customs Code of Ukraine, concerning the failure to declare goods subject to prohibitions and restrictions on importation into the customs territory of Ukraine as laid down by law.
All the animals have been transferred to the Lviv City Children’s Ecology and Natural History Centre for safekeeping, where they will be provided with appropriate conditions for their care and welfare.
The court will decide the future of the seized animals.
