On the heels of his acclaimed The Dangerous World of Butterflies, investigative journalist Peter Laufer is back to chronicle his worldwide quest to penetrate the underworld of international animal smuggling.
In Forbidden Creatures, Laufer exposes the network of hunters, traders, and customers who constitute this
nefarious business - which, estimated at $10 to $20 billion annually, is second only to illegal drug trafficking in the money it earns criminals. Laufer asks: What is being smuggled, from where and why? Who is doing the smuggling? Who is doing the buying? What is being done to stop the illegal trading? What future awaits these endangered animals?
Taking readers to exotic and often lawless locales, Laufer introduces brazen and dangerous traders and wealthy customers whose greed and mindless self- interest perpetuate what is now a crisis of survival for a growing number of wild species. Woven throughout with riveting stories from law enforcement officials and federal prosecutors,
Forbidden Creatures is a compelling, first-person narrative written in Laufer's hallmark conversational, entertaining style.
