The alerts were launched by the National Institute of Animal Welfare (INBA)’s authorities and the Sanitary Barriers Unit of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP).

“”These animals are not pets and should be in their habitat,”” INBA’s president Marcia del Campo told El Observador newspaper.

Among the hundreds of species confiscated in the last year are “companion animals, production animals, exotic animals and wildlife,” according to a statement from the institute.

Del Campo warned that these animals end up in the illegal market after entering illegally through border points.

“They suffer great stress, because sometimes they come from long distances and many times in unimaginable conditions to go unnoticed,” he warned.

He remarked that due to “sanitary issues” they must go through a quarantine once captured, which adds extra stress. “Many do not survive,” the INBA president lamented.

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