Smoked monkey and whole sharks: the suitcase smugglers feeding Europe’s hunger for bushmeat

News Snapshot:

At Brussels airport, customs staff are digging into suitcases and cooler boxes full of charred meats and fish. There are boxes of flies with shrivelled dead caterpillars and juicy live ones. It is 6am, and they are checking all hold luggage from four morning flights – three from Africa and one from China – in an attempt to stem the flow of illegal meat from wildlife making its way into Europe via this major transit hub. There is a lingering smell of dried seafood. Staff here are used to finding all kinds of creatures in baggage, from a 1.5-metre basking...