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The main advantage the smugglers have in the Balkans countries is precisely that, the lack of awareness, not only of the general public, but also of the competent authorities. For this reason, the LIFE+ project “The Return of the Neophron” has set to reverse in some degree this situation and increase the level of awareness. For this, several seminars on the problem and extent of illegal wildlife trade have taken place in the most important and relevant Customs Offices in Greece and Bulgaria. Some of these seminars where implemented in collaboration with the UK Border Force, meaning experts of this country have come to share their experience and knowledge on the matter. Aiming to take this training a step further, the LIFE project organized a training trip to the UK in November. During this trip, a selected Customs Officer from the Athens Airport Customs travelled for a week to the UK, having the opportunity to participate in the 27th UK Wildlife Crime Enforcers Conference, but also to meet, discuss and see in action the National Wildlife Crime Unit in Livingstone, Scotland, the London’s Metropolitan Police and the Heathrow Airport Customs CITES team.
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