«Younger sister» of Amur tiger was planned to be illegally transported to South Korea

According to yacht’s owner, the skins were onboard for a long time and served simply as decoration of the rich interior of the rich yacht. Though experts think the skins were prepared for selling.

“In spite of the fact that lynx is a game species in Russia it is listed in CITES Appendix II. It means that special permission from administrative body of CITES Russia is needed for lynx’s parts export. The owner did not submit such documents to the customs officials,” - comments Natalia Pervushina, TRAFFIC coordinator at WWF-Russia Amur branch.

For the time being, a suit is filed against the yacht’s owner. Confiscated skins are being examined by experts to identify their value.

“We should mention that custom officials have done their job on a high professional level, - comments Pavel Fomenko, biodiversity conservation officer at WWF-Russia Amur branch. – As a rule, it is highly problematic to reveal contraband especially wildlife products at sea ports. It is very simple to hide small shipment onboard of a vessel and it is hard to detect it.”