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Luggage found stuffed with 5,000 leeches
- sudhirj 8y agoI personally hate the things - was bitten under my knee once and it was itchy for three years - but they’re valuable enough to smuggle. Or “import” in this case. $50k worth of product in this case.
- Faaak 8y agoWhat are they used for ?
- gambiting 8y agoThe article explains it. They are used for getting rid of pooled blood and are used for that purpose by legitimate hospitals and doctors. Obviously quack medicine is also trying to sell them as something to use to get rid of "bad blood" which is nonsense. But they do have legitimate medical uses.
- AllegedAlec 8y agoHey, balancing the humors is important for health! Don't believe 'mainstream medicine'!
- fb03 8y agoYou forgot the /s mate ;)
- devereaux 8y agoThe difference between pest and pets is often but a /s
- sudhirj 8y agoIf your humours were better balanced you might have a better more balanced sense of humour.
- allenbrunson 8y agoif you have to explain a joke, you've ruined it.
- goldfeld 8y agoYou'd be surprised.
- Dirlewanger 8y agoSo is the legality of acquiring them in Canada a gray area? Seems like the guy is trying to fulfill (albeit crudely via smuggling) a market need.
- gambiting 8y agoHe wasn't charged with smuggling - just with illegal importation(it's not the same, as silly as it seems). He didn't try to hide the leeches from the customs official, but he did declare them as for "personal use" which is nonsense at this quantity. I understand that he would need to apply for a permit to import them first, which he didn't.
- MisterOctober 8y agoI saw an episode of the television show 'Victorian Pharmacy' where they explained the modern and historical medical uses of these creatures, and also demonstrated it live on some poor guy. Apparently the ones used by hospitals are fed nothing for two whole years so that they are REALLY hangry when put to use. The leech vendor had a bucket of them and says he gets seven dollars apiece!
- pvaldes 8y agoLower the risk of rejection in face transplants for example.
- mateo1 8y agoHonestly I don't get how they deem the risk of infection acceptable, especially with leeches of unknown origin. They could carry a myriad or blood-born diseases. They are more than likely to have been used on ill humans before. Are they thoroughly tested for all cases? I honestly doubt it. Just incinerate them and breed clean ones. And it's not like their anti-coagulant abilities are irreplaceable. Sure, they come in a convenient package but that's all.
- jschwartzi 8y agoThat's a new one. "Leeches of Unknown Provenance." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_of_unknown_pedigree https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_of_unknown_pedigree
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y agoWhat I don't get is why go to all the hassle and expense of smuggling them when they could be bred locally? Surely the raising and breeding of leeches isn't complicated?
- dmos62 8y agoIt depends on the profit margins. If the labour in the destination country is significantly more expensive, harvesting/breeding somewhere else and transporting can make sense.
- bausshf 8y agoMaybe because the cost of travel and breeding expenses were lower compared to just doing the breeding in Canada. Could also be the sales price which might be higher there than elsewhere. I'm by no means an expert and it's just a guesstimate.
- dsfyu404ed 8y agoPossibly also regulation. I don't know how/if leech breeding is regulated but if it is I suspect it's a lot easier to hide one suitcase than a breeding operation.
- schwartzworld 8y agoA heartwarming piece about how a police dog did it's duty and found something unexpected. Cute, right? Let's not forget that drug-sniffing dogs are trained to give positive indicators. They don't sniff for drugs, they just give cops probable cause to search your luggage if they want to. This piece doesn't have the typical copaganda headline, but it's copaganda for sure. Just saying.
- presscast 8y ago>copaganda Your points may be valid (immaterial to my comment), but you're not doing yourself any favors by using such words. It's a red flag for "ideologically-driven zealot".
- thatcat 8y agoCops work is often refered to as duty or service, obviously inflated terms but no one would accuse you of being an ideological zealot for using them. Agenda seems neutral by comparison.
- presscast 8y agoThis is absurd. It's called duty and service because it falls under the category (and I'm being technical here) of a public service for which there are legally-assigned duties (e.g.: assistance to endangered persons).
- schwartzworld 8y agoAm I not supposed to be driven by ideology?
- presscast 8y agoYou're supposed to be reasonable. Phrases like "copaganda" suggest you're not. I'm telling you this to help you be more convincing.
- csomar 8y ago