Hundreds of lion claws and 5kg of ivory seized from cargo vessel in Limerick

The consignment included 18.5kg of lion claws and 5.4kg of ivory in the form of small tusks, combs and jewellery.

Hundreds of lion claws and over 5kg of ivory products made from elephant tusks were seized by customs officers attached to Shannon Airport, newly released records have revealed.

Hundreds of lion claws and 5kg of ivory seized from cargo vessel in Limerick. Pictured are Lion claws. Photo: Revenue 

The illegal items were discovered during a search of a cargo vessel from Guinea in West Africa at Aughinish, Co Limerick in December. They have since been transferred to Dublin’s National Museum of Ireland – Natural History.

The seizure was made under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which aims to protect vulnerable flora and fauna by placing restrictions on imports and exports.

The consignment included 18.5kg of lion claws and 5.4kg of ivory in the form of small tusks, combs and jewellery. Both are body parts targeted by poachers and change hands for lucrative sums on the black market.

“During the course of routine operations, customs officers detected a consignment which included ivory and lion claws on a cargo vessel at Aughinish, Co Limerick,” a spokesman for the Office of the Revenue Commissioners confirmed.

“The vessel had arrived from Guinea, West Africa. On identification of the ivory and lion claws, officers seized the goods.” 

Revenue has primary responsibility for the detection, interception and seizure of smuggled and prohibited goods entering the State. It has anti-smuggling teams at every main port, airport and postal depot.

Hundreds of lion claws and 5kg of ivory seized from cargo vessel in Limerick. Pictured is Ivory. Photo: Revenue f

Conservation body Panthera recently warned that there had been “an alarming and dramatic” increase in lions being poached for their teeth and claws. It said the trend was having a devastating impact on lion populations in Africa.

In January 2020, 10 lions including two newborn cubs were brutally killed in South Africa and had their paws and snouts cut off for their claws and teeth. Two of the lionesses were pregnant.

Other CITES items seized by Customs in the past include a haul of 31 deal seahorses discovered at Shannon Airport in 2019, and a pair of alligator heads that were found in a package at Portlaoise Mail Centre during the same year.

Officers have also confiscated desiccated snakes, wildcat teeth, a turtle shell, and 2kg of meat from a near-threatened species of antelope.

In 2018, a consignment of 37 crocodile teeth was seized in Portlaoise, along with a horse’s tail, a dried bat, and a moose horn. Package of 89 dried insects was also intercepted, as well as two exotic beetles that had been alive when they were posted but perished in transit.

The records were released by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners under the Freedom of Information Act.