Philippines Customs seizes 119 live tarantulas concealed inside a pair of shoes

119 live tarantula spiders hidden inside a pair of shoes were found by airport workers in the Philippines. The staff members at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) found the spiders inside a package shipped by a certain 'Michal Krolicki' from Poland, according to a Facebook post by the Customs Office. In General Trias, Cavite, the parcel was addressed to a consignee.

Taking to their respective Facebook handles, the Bureau of Customs PH shared pictures of the live tarantulas inside rubber shoes. In the pictures, one can also see the customs officers carefully investigating the scene.  Along with the pictures, the Facebook handle also penned a long note revealing details about the same.

The caption read as, “The Bureau of Customs-NAIA prevented another attempt of illegal wildlife trade by intercepting 119 live tarantulas concealed inside rubber shoes in DHL warehouse last October 28, 2020”. It further added, “the parcel, declared as “buty” or polish word for shoes, was shipped by a certain “Michal Krolicki” from Poland to a consignee in General Trias, Cavite. Through the vigilance of Customs operatives and examiners, the package yielded suspicious images and was subjected to physical examination. Customs examiners uncovered different species of live tarantulas in individual plastic vials”.

Talking about where the tarantulas were sent, the post further read as “The seized tarantulas were immediately turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Wildlife Traffic Monitoring Unit (DENR WTMU) on October 29 for proper handling and disposal”. The post spoke about a previous incident that took in the year 2019. It said, “in 2019, Customs NAIA intercepted 757 live tarantulas concealed inside oatmeal and cookie boxes and 87 live spiders inside white plastic canisters, both exported from Poland”. Take a look at the wildlife trafficking of tarantula post below.

Also read | 'Midnight Sun' Book Review: Fans Say They Are 'eternally Grateful' To Stephenie Meyer

Also read | Indian Matchmaking To Gully Cricket; This Viral Reddit Thread Will Give Users A Good Laugh

About Tarantula

According to National Geographic, the illicit trade of tarantulas is a little-known corner of the wildlife black market, which is a multibillion-dollar business that is threatening the world's animal habitats. Elephants and rhinos were among the hardest hit, however, among other things, smaller, more elusive animals are needed as pets or for use in traditional medicine and as novelty items. That has tarantulas included. It is still unclear how most other tarantulas are affected by poaching, but scientists fear that over-collection compounded by threats such as climate change and destruction of habitats could wipe out species before it is time to study them in the wild.

Also read | Japan: World's First 'life-size' Godzilla replica Offers Zip-line Ride Into Its Mouth

Also read | Slovakian Company Develops Car That Can Transform Into Aircraft, Watch Its Maiden Flight