Aphrodisiac Market Fuels Killing of Sea Lions

Despite their corpulence, sea lions are very vulnerable. Their fins are useless in protecting them from poachers who bludgeon the males to death to extract their genitals to be sold in Asia, where they are considered an aphrodisiac by some cultures.

LIMA - The 53,000 sea lions that inhabit the Peruvian coastline have been hunted for decades for their skin, teeth, meat and intestines. Today, the supposed aphrodisiac qualities of their genitals -- much valued on the Asian markets -- puts them in a new line of fire.

A massacre of these marine mammals last year shocked the public and put the authorities on alert.

From September to October 2002, poachers disembarked on a rocky island of the southern Paracas Reserve and killed dozens of male sea lions and fur seals, taking their genitals.

According to the denunciation that the National Institute of Natural Resources (INRENA) filed with the provincial prosecutor general of Pisco, on San Gallán Island, the remains of 147 male sea lions were found. They had been killed with clubs and knives, and were found decomposing among the rocks of the beach.

The Pisco prosecutor conducted some routine investigations that proved fruitless. The case was filed away due to the impossibility of tracking down the perpetrators.

But the massacre did motive lawmakers and environmental activists to promote legal reforms aimed at protecting this endangered species.

"The Asian market of aphrodisiac manufacturers could generate a demand that would be very dangerous, because it is more difficult to control than the international market for skins and furs," commented activist Stephan Austermuhle, of the environmental organization Mundo Azul (Blue World).

"We are preparing an international campaign to raise awareness of the situation of the sea lions in Peru and other countries of the region," he said.

Mundo Azul promotes the defense of marine biodiversity and has presented a legislative bill to declare 25 uninhabited islands wildlife refuges. These islands along the Peruvian coast are sea lion habitat.

Two sea species predominate in this country: the "lobo fino" (Arctocephalus australis - South American fur seal), known for the quality of its fur, and the "lobo chusco" (Otaria byrona - Southern sea lion), which is less sought-after because its fur is shorter and stiffer.

The voracity of the market for this animal's skins led to intense hunting of the "lobo fino", whose population in Peru plummeted to fewer than 1,000 in the 1960s. A hunting ban was imposed, and now the population is estimated at 8,200.

But the demand for their genitals does not discriminate between the two types of sea mammals, such that the "lobo chusco", estimated to number 44,700 in Peru, is also under threat.

In spite of their corpulence -- adult males weigh up to 160 kg and females 50 kg -- these marine mammals are largely defenseless because on land they move slowly and awkwardly.

Their front extremities, their fins, are useless in defending the sea lions from poachers, who kill them with clubs or knives.

These mammals are very gregarious, spend their time on land crowded on rocky shores, and reproduce very slowly... a female gives birth to a pup ever two or three years. Their colonies are a popular attraction for visitors to the Paracas Reserve.

Peruvian lawmaker Fabiola Morales, chairwoman of the Environment and Ecology Commission in parliament, filed a complaint with the attorney general and the ministers of Interior and Agriculture that the case of the 2002 massacre had been filed away. She demanded that the measures taken to prevent such incidents from repeating be made public.

Two other legislative deputies on the commission, Maruja Alfaro and Víctor Noriega, traveled to the site of the sea lion killing to conduct a parliamentary investigation.

Although the report was not made public, it was included in the records of two bills the commission is preparing. One would create the post of public prosecutor for the environment, a specialized office that would be in charge of investigating environmental crimes.

The second bill would create a sub-ministry of environment, with authority over several governmental agencies in order to focus resources and carry out more effective protection of species and habitat.

While the legislative initiatives wend their way through the Peruvian parliament, activists are working to do what they can to prevent a repeat of the sea lion massacre of 2002.

* Abraham Lama is an IPS contributor.