Growing affluence boosts demand for items like rhino horn
Amelia Teng Straits Times 7 Apr 12;
LAST year was a grim year for Asia's wildlife, says a leading activist in a group trying to eradicate the trade and killing of protected animals.
Mr Chris Shepherd, deputy regional director of Traffic South-east Asia, says 2011 'may have been the worst year yet' for Asia's wildlife, as trade in sought-after animals left a terrible toll.
In October, the Javan rhino was declared extinct in Vietnam. That had brutal consequences elsewhere around the globe. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, a record number of 448 rhinos were killed in South Africa last year because of escalating demand for rhino horn in Vietnam.
The ivory trade flourished in Asia: more than 23 tonnes of illegal ivory were seized in markets like Malaysia, Thailand, China and Hong Kong last year. Global wildlife watchdog Traffic estimates more than 2,500 elephants were killed.
Gecko trade in the Philippines skyrocketed, with many believing in the creature's cancer-curing properties. The list goes on.
Wildlife groups like Traffic and the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking have estimated the illegal wildlife trade to be a multibillion-dollar business.
Asian demand is a major driver of the trade. The region's growing affluence has boosted demand for items like elephant ivory, tiger bone and rhino horn.
Markets like Bangkok's sprawling Chatuchak or weekend market, immensely popular with tourists, and Pramuka in Jakarta, which openly displays large volumes of illegal wildlife for sale, are prime examples of the brazen way traffickers ply their trade in full view of the authorities.
'Anywhere with weak enforcement draws smuggling activities,' says Mr Shepherd.
While the authorities struggle with enforcing law and order, traffickers' operations are becoming more sophisticated and advanced.
Smuggling methods include hiding small animals in suitcases and pockets, declaring a protected species to be another species unlikely to draw attention, and using fraudulent documents. Mixing illegal specimens with legal ones is done to confuse the authorities. Some export wild animals as legally captive-bred. Others bribe officials at checkpoints.
'These syndicates are part of a well-connected, well-funded network of people across the globe who can source, move and sell large volumes of protected wildlife, including rare and endangered animals,' says Traffic South-east Asia senior programme officer Elizabeth John.
She adds that many people are involved in the chain - poachers, hunters, and those who source animals from them and sell them to middlemen.
These middlemen are part of a larger network of traffickers who trade within and across countries.
Singapore is an important centre for trade and commerce in this region. Large volumes of goods, including illegally traded animals, pass through the Republic and are re-exported to neighbouring countries.
In the past decade, 2004 saw the highest number of animal seizures, with 59 cases, followed by 39 cases in 2003, said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA). In both years, the items seized included live species and animal parts, and all were shipped from overseas.
In 2005, the number of cases dropped to 12. Last year, there were 20 seizures. The AVA says the rise and fall in the number of cases are not attributed to any specific cause, as the level of vigilance has been constant through the years.
The AVA is responsible for implementing and enforcing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) locally. Cites is an international agreement drawn up in 1973 to protect wildlife, to which Singapore has been a signatory since 1986.
The AVA works closely with other enforcement agencies like the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Police Coast Guard to monitor Singapore's borders. It conducts regular workshops and training sessions for checkpoint officers. They are taught how to identify species and implement measures to meet Cites requirements.
AVA permits are required for the import of Cites-listed species. Cites export permits from the source country are also needed before an import permit can be obtained.
While official figures are low, it may not mean all is well. Mr Shepherd warns that 'exporters in source countries in the region, such as Indonesia, falsify permits, making it very difficult for the authorities in re-exporting and importing countries, like Singapore, to tell illegal from legal'.
In 2010, a shipment of 470 python and 363 monitor lizard skins from Indonesia that was falsely declared as synthetic leather was seized in Singapore.
Mr Shepherd believes illegal trade can be reduced with more effort, resources and commitment. But action is critically needed.
'The authorities are increasing their efforts, but we still have a long way to go before a serious dent is made.'
Illegal wildlife trade thriving in cyberspace
Ad sites turning into grounds for hunting endangered species
Amelia Teng Straits Times 7 Apr 12;
SOME say cyberspace is a jungle, with no rules.
For endangered and other protected animals, the Internet is proving a very dangerous place indeed - more dangerous than the natural predators they face in the wild.
Classified ad sites, networking sites and forums are the perfect platforms for dealers to engage in illicit exchanges. As the Internet is open and unregulated, these poachers can remain anonymous and hidden from the authorities.
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They are helped by the fact that most websites do not monitor what is being posted or sold, nor do they require sellers to prove the legitimacy of their items. It is also difficult to identify sellers online. Most postings do not provide any seller IDs, making it difficult to track them down.
An online search on Adpost, a classified ad website, turned up people looking for protected snake species like Boelen's python and the white-lipped python. Both are listed in Appendix II under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), an international agreement to which Singapore has been a signatory since 1986.
Other Cites-listed species like green tree pythons, yellow-crowned Amazons and Indian star tortoises are also sold on such sites.
Cites has three levels of protection for threatened species. Appendix I includes species in immediate danger of extinction, and trade is permitted only in exceptional cases. Species in Appendix II require protection, and trade is controlled. Appendix III-listed species are protected in at least one country, which asks for help from other countries to monitor trade.
Under Singapore's Endangered Species (Import & Export) Act, someone importing, exporting, re-exporting or possessing any Cites species without a permit can be fined up to $50,000 a species, up to $500,000, and/or two years in jail.
'Pretty much any species can be purchased and paid for online and delivered anywhere in the world within a few days,' said Mr Chris Shepherd, deputy regional director of Traffic South-east Asia, a wildlife advocacy group. It is part of a global network linked to the World Wide Fund for Nature. Traffic South-east Asia has also seen an explosion of online sites selling tokay geckos in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. These lizards are prized for their perceived medicinal benefits, as some people believe they can cure cancer and Aids.
In the Philippines, gecko trading is especially active on sites like Sulit. One specimen can fetch as much as 500,000 pesos (S$14,600) online. Geckos are not Cites-listed, but are protected under the Wildlife Act of the Philippines.
Illegal online trade is also rampant outside Asia. Last year, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw), a United States-based animal welfare group, monitored 43 websites in Britain, France, Portugal, Spain and Germany, and found a thriving trade in ivory products. More than 660 items worth almost €650,000 (S$1.1 million) were put up for sale in just two weeks.
In its more than seven years of investigative work, Ifaw has discovered that wildlife trade over the Internet extends also to rhino horn products, tiger bone, leopard skin, bear bile, live reptiles and birds.
It will take a lot more than current measures to catch criminals red-handed, said Mr Shepherd. He said there should be special teams to focus on combating the online wildlife trade, because 'finding and catching 'invisible' criminals is extremely difficult'.
