This footage shows a street seller offering protected tarantulas from a plastic box to passersby “as if they were candy” before he was seized by police.
The arrest took place in the Azcapotzalco district of the Mexican capital, Mexico City, and it was reported on 2nd November, after officers from the Animal Surveillance Brigade of the Secretariat of Citizen Security responded to reports circulating on social media.
When police arrived, they found him holding a tarantula and offering it for sale.
It was discovered that the arachnid belongs to a species called red-kneed tarantula (Brachypelma smithi), which is native to Mexico and considered protected under environmental laws.
It is listed as near-threatened on the IUCN’s Red List of Endangered Species and it is prohibited to sell or possess them.
The 53-year-old suspect, who was not named, was detained at the scene.
Authorities said the tarantula was handed over to specialists for containment and a medical examination to determine its health condition before being placed in proper care.
The incident came to light after social media users shared videos of the man handling several tarantulas and even placing them on his body while offering them to passersby.
Outraged animal activists called for police intervention, saying: “These are creatures that require certain permits and shouldn’t be sold like candy.”
Following the arrest, the Secretariat urged citizens not to buy exotic or wild animals and to report illegal possession or sale to the Animal Surveillance Brigade, the Attorney General’s Office, or the Environmental and Land Use Prosecutor’s Office (PAOT).
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: newsX
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