Philippines Customs Officials Seize 757 Tarantulas
Philippine customs officials opened nicely gift-wrapped boxes of cookies and oatmeal flown in all the way from Poland and were surprised to find hundreds of live spiders. Bureau of Customs personnel seized the tarantulas at a mail exchange center near Manila’s international. They later arrested a man who tried to claim the spiders which were declared as “collection items.” The shipment was valued at $5,900. Philippine wildlife laws prohibit the trading, collection and possession of such spiders, which are popular pets among arachnid enthusiasts, without permits.