News

Visit the illegal-animal-smuggling morgue at the busiest port in the United States

Inside the smuggler’s morgue.
Inside the smuggler’s morgue.
Image: Reuters/Lucas Jackson
By
Tim Fernholz
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This week, Actuality visits a lab at the front line of the fight against a peculiar crime—animal trafficking. The global black market for snakes, sea cucumbers, ivory and the like is hot, but the world is starting to crack down.

Plus, whale euthanasia.

You can also listen to the podcast on iTunes or use this RSS feed with any podcast application. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe so you don’t miss the next one.

This week, we visited the US Fish and Wildlife’s New York lab, and spoke to the World Wildlife Fund’s Crawford Allan and Marketplace reporter Tracey Samuelson. Our surprising discovery was reported by the Australian Broadcasting Company. We also promised you some more pictures of the lab, so without further ado:

Inside the US Fish and Wildlife Service's US lab.
Inside the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s US lab.
Image: Quartz/Tim Fernholz
A carved Chimpanzee skull and the ceramic mask that hid it.
A carved Chimpanzee skull and the ceramic mask that hid it.
Image: Quartz/Tim Fernholz
A crate of animal skins.
A crate of animal skins.
Image: Quartz/Tim Fernholz
A Cayman crocodile skin shoe hidden behind cheap leather covering.
A Cayman crocodile skin shoe hidden behind cheap leather covering.
Image: Quartz/Tim Fernholz
Two ivory statues; one is partially hidden inside papier-mâché.
Two ivory statues; one is partially hidden inside papier-mâché.
Image: Quartz/Tim Fernholz

This is the final episode of Actuality’s first season; we will return bigger and better than ever in March.

Actuality is a podcast jointly produced by Quartz and Marketplace, hosted by Tim Fernholz and Sabri Ben-Achour. Follow Actuality on Twitter, and let us know what you think of the show!