SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Sales of wild animals in Tijuana are increasing in spite of efforts to stop them, says Frank Ortiz González, director of Mexico’s Animal Rights Lawyers Association.

According to Ortiz González, the problem used to be people trying to cross the border with exotic animals in their cars, but now, he says it’s more common to find people selling rare birds and animals online or even on the streets of Tijuana.

“We’ve had incidents, especially on the east side of the city, where it’s widely known there are certain species of animals for sale, that’s where they confiscated a tiger,” said Ortiz González.

He also stated they are working with Mexico’s attorney general to find better cooperation and more police interventions to end the sale of exotic animals.

“Recently there was a video on social media of someone walking through a mall with a white tiger on a leash, this happened not too long ago,” said Ortiz González. “We have placed emphasis on changing federal laws when it comes to the possession and sale of wild animals, there needs to be prohibitions to prevent these animals from being kept inside someone’s home.”

The attorney wants more public awareness and penalties for those who keep and sell exotic animals.

“The reality is we cannot have them in our house, if you want to keep one of these animals, you need to draw permits and make sure you have enough open space for them to roam, but the black market is very complicated.”

Wild animals sold the most include tigers, rare birds and monkeys according to Ortiz González.

“People can get them in the black market, there’s people who move them from one place to another to make a sale.”