But it's hard to wipe out as trade is global and sales go online
Nicholas Yong, Straits Times 2 May 09;
A SINGAPOREAN who tried to smuggle live birds through the Woodlands Checkpoint in his car in mid-February was given away by squawks coming from the glove compartment.
Customs officers found a plastic bag containing three newspaper- wrapped bundles. Inside were a zebra dove and two long-tailed parakeets, which he claimed he had bought.
The birds were confiscated and the case referred to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).
The parakeets, highly endangered, are worth about $250 each; prices for the zebra dove start at $150 and go up to as much as $50,000.
Ten cases of possession or illegal import of protected wildlife cropped up in the first quarter of this year.
Last year, there were 17 wildlife- related enforcement cases, down from the 46 cases the year before. The numbers have been on the downtrend since 2004's high of 97 cases.
Singapore is a signatory to an international agreement that seeks to ensure trade does not threaten wildlife species with extinction. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or Cites as it is called, protects about 5,000 species of animals and 28,000 species of plants.
A person found guilty of smuggling protected wildlife here can be fined up to $50,000 for each species on the Cites list, up to $500,000 in total, or jailed up to two years, or both.
The same applies for those caught possessing, selling or offering for sale endangered species illegally imported into the country.
The AVA has been stepping up enforcement against the illegal wildlife trade. Its officers at the various checkpoints have been briefed on Cites and wildlife smugglers' tactics.
But wiping out the smuggling is tough because the trade is global, estimated by Interpol to be worth US$10 billion (S$14.7 billion) to US$20 billion a year.
Wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic said the problem is 'rampant' in South-east Asia. Contributing factors include the region's diverse collection of animals and plants and its uneven enforcement measures stemming from a lack of resources.
Traffic has listed Singapore, Malaysia and the United States among the world's top 10 wildlife smuggling hubs. Traffic's regional director for South-east Asia Azrina Abdullah said the 'world-class' infrastructure in these countries facilitates the trade.
Mr Louis Ng, executive director of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), said constant enforcement here is paying off.
In the last three years, 9,000 animals have been confiscated as a result of public tip-offs, and fewer pet shops are selling protected species.
Mr Ng noted, however, that the illegal wildlife trade had gone online - Acres now gets tip-offs on websites selling exotic wildlife almost weekly.
There is an upside to this. 'People are more aware now, when previously, they might not have known that these animals were illegal,' he said.
48 seized animals are with zoo
Straits Times 2 May 09;
WHEN the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) raided three locations on March 25, it netted 48 illegally kept animals.
The haul comprised 31 reptiles such as snakes and tortoises, and 17 arachnids such as spiders.
Ms Lye Fong Keng, who heads the AVA's wildlife regulatory department, said investigations are ongoing. The animals have been sent to the zoo.
Animals confiscated by the AVA are either sent there, to the Jurong BirdPark or Underwater World. Some of them are released into nature parks.
The AVA handled 10 wildlife-related enforcement cases in the first three months of this year. Eight cases involved illegal possession of live wildlife; the other two involved attempts to illegally import such animals.
No decision has been made yet on whether the 48 animals seized in the March 25 raids will eventually be absorbed into the zoo's collection.
All animals sent to the zoo are quarantined - reptiles for a month, and primates and hoofed animals, up to three months. By the end of the quarantine, the zoo would have decided where to put them:
# Local animals such as squirrels or pangolins may be released back to nature parks.
# Exotic animals which the zoo already has may be sent to partnering institutions.
# Some animals may be absorbed into the zoo's existing collection.
Former zoo favourite, the orang utan Ah Meng, for example, was confiscated from a family that kept her illegally as a pet. She was given to the zoo in 1971.
Animals are put down only as a last resort, for instance if they are in poor condition. Of the 342 animals the zoo received last year from the AVA, police or members of the public, only five were euthanised.
Members of the public turned in 47 animals to the zoo last year. While some donations are genuine finds by members of the public, others could have been illegally kept pets that people decided to give up, said the zoo's assistant director of zoology Biswajit Guha.
'Some people claim to have come across the wild animals in their gardens, but in some instances, you can tell it's a lie.' he said.
'You can see that they are really sad to give up the animals.'
In Singapore, keeping wild animals without a licence is an offence under the Wild Animals and Birds Act. The fine can be up to $1,000 per animal.
ANG YIYING
The haul comprised 31 reptiles such as snakes and tortoises, and 17 arachnids such as spiders.
Ms Lye Fong Keng, who heads the AVA's wildlife regulatory department, said investigations are ongoing. The animals have been sent to the zoo.
Animals confiscated by the AVA are either sent there, to the Jurong BirdPark or Underwater World. Some of them are released into nature parks.
The AVA handled 10 wildlife-related enforcement cases in the first three months of this year. Eight cases involved illegal possession of live wildlife; the other two involved attempts to illegally import such animals.
No decision has been made yet on whether the 48 animals seized in the March 25 raids will eventually be absorbed into the zoo's collection.
All animals sent to the zoo are quarantined - reptiles for a month, and primates and hoofed animals, up to three months. By the end of the quarantine, the zoo would have decided where to put them:
# Local animals such as squirrels or pangolins may be released back to nature parks.
# Exotic animals which the zoo already has may be sent to partnering institutions.
# Some animals may be absorbed into the zoo's existing collection.
Former zoo favourite, the orang utan Ah Meng, for example, was confiscated from a family that kept her illegally as a pet. She was given to the zoo in 1971.
Animals are put down only as a last resort, for instance if they are in poor condition. Of the 342 animals the zoo received last year from the AVA, police or members of the public, only five were euthanised.
Members of the public turned in 47 animals to the zoo last year. While some donations are genuine finds by members of the public, others could have been illegally kept pets that people decided to give up, said the zoo's assistant director of zoology Biswajit Guha.
'Some people claim to have come across the wild animals in their gardens, but in some instances, you can tell it's a lie.' he said.
'You can see that they are really sad to give up the animals.'
In Singapore, keeping wild animals without a licence is an offence under the Wild Animals and Birds Act. The fine can be up to $1,000 per animal.
ANG YIYING
