It's an astounding quantity, but it's true. Not only are four new species wiped from the planet every day, but millions are stolen by criminals each year--38 million, to be exact--in Brazil alone. Brazil's National Network Against the Trafficking of Wild Animals (RENCTAS), who conducted the report, estimated that local traffickers of endangered animals earn about $1 billion a year.

The report also maintains that animal trafficking is the world's third largest cross-border criminal activity after arms and drugs smuggling, with annual global sales of up to $20 billion. Police, it says, intercept just 0.45 percent of the total amount of animals smuggled each year. "There is the domestic and the foreign market,'' Morad explains. ''The foreign market is mainly for rare species.''

A jaguar skin can sell for about $20,000 in the United States, while a scarce Lear's Macaw parrot can rake in $60,000. Parrots and parakeets of all species are sold for up to $100 in markets and fairs around Brazil, and for far more overseas--all of which tend to be illegally removed from their natural habitats.

Economics aside, some scientists believe such seemingly harmful actions bear little effect on the survival of a species as a whole. Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist, calls into question the actual "endangeredness" of such species. Most endangered species, he contends, are already members of the living dead, with or without human intervention. So while these acts may, in fact, be criminal, many skeptical scientists now feel the notion of habitat destruction--or, say, massive animal theft--inciting the depletion of Brazil's rare species is simply flawed.

RENCTAS biologist Flavia Morad said this was the first survey to combine all data on animal trafficking in Brazil, providing elaborate routes of the smugglers cross-border activity. Brazil's vast Pantanal wetlands are home to innumerable plant and animal wildlife, second only to the Amazon Rain Forest.

In response to the report, the Brazilian government vowed to undergo an operation underway in the state of Minas Gerais discouraging consumers from purchasing animals at street markets. Environment Minister Jose Sarney Filho said the report would be a "working tool'' for cracking down on this kind of crime.

On a positive note, it seems police have been cracking down on the problem now that complaints and reports of thefts have become somewhat rampant. The government statement revealed that rising numbers of smuggled animals have been found by police before they are sold, and that the number of animals found has risen to 61,182 from 23,100 in 1998. The report also stated that animal smugglers tend to be "professionals," who are often involved with other illegal activities, particularly drug trafficking.