Colombia witnesses 'biocommerce' boom

BOGOTA: Colombia, one of the world's most biologically diverse countries, has begun selling rare animals to other countries, a "biocommerce" viewed with unease by environmentalists.

The fledgling exports of exotic local fauna - especially butterflies, beetles, fish and frogs - to countries like the United States, Canada, Japan and the United Arab Emirates is being undertaken by 1,250 small Colombian companies, according to figures kept by the state-run Export Promotion Fund.

"Tinny," a trumpet beetle born in a nursery in the central province of Boyaca, has been a denizen of Kairakuen park in the Japanese city of Mito for the past two months. Its owner, Keiko Sato, traveled last week to a farm in rural Tunja, Colombia to find it a mate.