Here is a link of a Russian Animal Supplier with some cheap prices on animals. You can even buy a marbled cat for 200,000 rubles or 2,000 pounds (estimated). www.zoo-ekzo.ru - ??????? ???????????? ???????? | I found it while reading an article about pet Luristan Newts which said mostly Ukranian websites sell Luristan Newts. I google translated Luristan Newt for sale and pasted it on google, then this russian website came up!
But it's bussines is questionable, because they offer even bonobos, among orangutans. One bonobo is listed on sale for about 17,000 euros or 19,000 USD. How they source these animal, is this legal business? Also the animals are very expensive, one hyacinth macaw is selling for 20,000 USD! I saw on net how they are on sale for low prices like about 1,500 euros for a pair! One african bush elephant, 114,000 Euro (128,000 USD) - Zimbabve sells them for about 30,000 Euro each.
Yes I read them, but nowhere mentions CITES-certificates as for exporting/importing to other countries, because such certificates are needed in advance prior importing/exporting wild animals, nor the source of the animals (eg. captive bred, wild caugh, they are maybe all smuggled trough ilegal trade). Also nowhere mentions veterinary certificates, how they can be granted for animals for export/import. Plus about transporting says that mostly they are transported via train or buss, and rarely via plane. Transport trough train nowadays is considered very stressfull for animals and it is avoided at many costs. Plane transport is best for long traveling, and transport by trucks/cars for smaller animals at shorter distances. I know one website from Tanzania where they sell wild animals, but these above-mentioned things are all mentioned and explained. Plus they sell wild african animals at much cheaper prices.
I hope everyone on this site is aware there are lots of scams on the internet and exotic animals sales is a big one. I seriously doubt this site is legit. I think they are just grabbing photos from any source they can find. The photo they have accompanying bobcat is actually a Eurasian lynx. And how in the world are they going to get hold of a marbled cat? The only known breeding pair in captivity are in a private center in the UAE and they are certainly not giving any up. My suspicion is you send them your money and that is the end of it.
Notice that the Russian version of the site has more species and in some cases different "prices" than the English. If it isn't a scam it might work in some countries, but I'll guarantee you that if you live in a western country and you tried to get a marbled cat from a site like that it WOULD be seized in customs and you WOULD get a conviction for illegal trade in a protected animal. The same can be said about several of the other very rare species supposedly offered (saiga, bonobo, polar bear, etc). Even if it isn't covered by CITES, I'm also sure the Australian authorities would be very interested in knowing how someone could get a nabarlek outside Australia. If we assumed it was entirely legal and not a scam, it would still be highly questionable from an ethical standpoint. In some of the other more common species (including some of the felines, primates, etc) there's a fairly large market in USA and reasonable numbers are bred privately. Because of more strict regulations the market in western Europe is much smaller. Regardless, if you live in a part of the world where corruption is widespread and you have enough money you can get pretty much anything.
I wonder where they’re supposed to get the European microchiroptera from...and who wants to buy such.
Nabarlek? I don't think there are any in captivity in Australia, or ever have been! Definitely sounds like a scam, and not a very sophisticated one at that. Hix
These scams pop up with some frequency. There was some guy advertising otter-shrews a couple years ago. They have never been successfully been kept alive in captivity for longer than days and never outside of their native range in Africa.
Perth Zoo ended up with a rescue individual some years ago - no idea whether it is still alive and/or present there, however.
the Russian website has been discussed here before, on this messy thread http://www.zoochat.com/2/platypuses-must-some-chance-426999/index2.html (from post #28). The photo of the "Nabarlek" is actually a wild Allied Rock Wallaby from Wikipedia.
I am tempted to send an email asking for further details and pictures of their animals, but maybe that is a job for a native Russian speaker.