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Russians only let the price, not the threat of extinction, come between them and caviar, a survey by the global conservation organisation WWF says.
Russians are consuming less of the prized delicacy compared with a couple of years ago, but only because the price of the tiny black sturgeon roe has increased.
Rising prices discouraged 68 per cent of respondents from buying caviar, the WWF survey said, while only 4 per cent cited the collapse of Caspian Sea sturgeon stocks as a factor in the decline.
"We found that our countrymen don't think of the environment when they eat caviar, but the rising prices are making people buy less and less," WWF's Moscow spokeswoman Darya Kudryavtseva said.
WWF estimates that 9/10 of all black caviar - the most expensive kind - have been taken illegally from the waters.
"People are ready to buy illegal caviar. The fate of sturgeon and the legality of caviar is of little concern to Russians," she said.
Last month, Russian police seized almost half a tonne of contraband caviar worth an estimated US$600,000 ($798,000) as it was being smuggled through a military airfield in black rubbish bags, the Interior Ministry said.
Caviar from the rare beluga sturgeon costs about US$1800 per kg in Moscow markets, versus £3700 ($10,060) in London, though other types obviously cost less.
- Reuters
