1. National Geographic's "Asia's Wildlife Trade"  details the author's travel to Malaysia in an attempt to interview the most notorious trader in endangered animals. This trader was so gangster that he bragged about having customs officials and transportation employees on his payroll who could get any endangered animal into the US. Like a mafia don from the old country, it was business as usual for him after he served time in prison for violating the Lacey Act (and you thought the Lacey Act was all about paper!)

2. Guess you could call this a case of breaking the law for a higher calling. In the WSJ's "How Bambi Met James Bond to Save Israel's 'Extinct' Deer" author Charles Levinson tells how a Dutch zooligist smuggled deer native to Israel out of Iran during the eve of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. This tale is complete with car chases, a general's obsession, a daring nighttime escape and export licenses...with a happy ending added!

3. If you crave even more animal adventures, travel to Ecuador as the Smithsonian magazine's "Wildlife Trafficking" exposes the illegal trade in exotic birds.

4. Closer to home, Dallas flagship luxury retailer Neiman Marcus was fined $25,000 for mislabeling faux fur as real. For all you aspiring importers out there, marking and labeling rules are no joke.

5. To round out our animal theme,  let us introduce (or reintroduce) you to the little known government agency responsible for enforcing the rules on animal and fur imports. The US Fish and Wildlife Service issues permits to importers and exporters who trade in "any living or dead wild animal, its parts, and products made from it. Wildlife not only includes mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, but also invertebrates such as insects, crustaceans, arthropods, molluscs and coelenterates."