The Tribune

MONTHS after 13 endangered iguanas were smuggled out of the country and into England by two Romanian tourists, 12 of the animals were returned to the country on Wednesday thanks to a collaboration between the Bahamas government and British officials.

In early February, the two women, who had the animals stuffed into socks and concealed in a suitcase, were stopped at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 by UK customs officers. One of the iguanas died during the journey. The two women, ages 24 and 26, were arrested on suspicion of importation offences. The iguanas are said to be worth tens of thousands of dollars on the black market.

At the time, officials said they believed the Romanians were attempting to smuggle the iguanas into Dusseldorf, Germany.

On Wednesday Bahamian and British officials celebrated the arrival of the iguanas, which were shipped home in three separate boxes.

Environment Minister Ken Dorsett said the incident has increased awareness of the need to put more resources in place to deter wildlife smuggling.

“The proliferation of wildlife trafficking will continue unless the proper measures are put in place to identify and deter this criminal act,” he said at a press conference at the Lynden Pindling International Airport. “This incident has also heightened our awareness of the need for greater border security, additional training and stricter laws, so that any future occurrence of wildlife smuggling may be quickly detected or avoided.”

He added: “We thank the government of the UK for their excellent cooperation as they have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure the successful repatriation of these animals and we look forward to working with other countries as well as local, regional and international NGOs to address the challenge.”

Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, the member of Parliament for San Salvador, said the country must not allow criminals to harm wildlife or their habitats.

“As the member of Parliament responsible for that island, it is my goal and the goal of this government, to promote the conservation of this species and many others now under threat,” Mr Davis said. “The act of animal trafficking and smuggling is a human crime that is based on ignorance and greed, this is a problem of global proportions that will need co-ordinated global response in order to combat its occurrence.

“We cannot afford to lose our endemic or endangered species or the habitats or ways of life they support and we cannot allow viscous criminals to make them extinct.”

The San Salvador Rock Iguana is considered extremely rare and is near extinction; there are only a few hundred of these iguanas left that are native to the Bahamas.

All Rock Iguanas in the country are protected by the Wild Animals Protection Act.

The 12 iguanas will be sent to a facility in their native San Salvador for rehabilitation before they are returned to the wild.

The Bahamas National Trust (BNT), the Ministry of the Environment, UK Border Force and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force will host a “public iguana homecoming” at 7pm today.

During this public meeting, officials will share information about the iguanas which were smuggled out of the country.