NewsWhore
02-09-2009, 05:10 PM
The Ministry of Environment has ordered the confiscating of thousands of turtle shell crafts being sold to tourists. There is a ban on the sale of these crafts locally, but the authorities for years have looked the other way. Last week the Ministry of Environment began to confiscate goods at hotel shops, malls and gift shops in Santo Domingo, Juan Dolio and Punta Cana. El Caribe newspaper reported that the stores at the Santo Domingo Hilton, V Centenario Inter-Continental, Embajador, Dominican Fiesta, Renaissance Jaragua and Barcelo Lina were carrying the illegal goods. The authorities visited shops in the Modelo Market and others on Mella Avenue, as well as in the Colonial City (Isabel la Catolica, El Conde and Arzobispo Merino streets), and at the Las Americas International Airport. In El Cortecito, Bavaro, hundreds of crafts in turtle shell were confiscated.
Handbags, bracelets, earrings, boxes, hair accessories, and whole turtles, with prices ranging from RD$300 to RD$18,000 were confiscated.
As reported in Listin Diario, the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (Widecast) congratulated the Ministry of Environment for taking firm steps to enforce existing laws to protect threatened and endangered species.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)
Handbags, bracelets, earrings, boxes, hair accessories, and whole turtles, with prices ranging from RD$300 to RD$18,000 were confiscated.
As reported in Listin Diario, the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (Widecast) congratulated the Ministry of Environment for taking firm steps to enforce existing laws to protect threatened and endangered species.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)