Feng Zengkun Straits Times 9 Aug 12;
MILLIONS of passengers wend in and out of Singapore each year, but some apparently carry fake travel documents.
These "interlopers" came to light last month when the Republic made world headlines as the key laundering point for tens of thousands of illegally-caught birds from the Solomon Islands.
A special report by Traffic, an international wildlife trade monitoring group, found that these were likely wild birds with export documents claiming they were bred in captivity. This concealed the damage to the birds' natural populations.
Singapore was the largest holding cage for the illicit trade, taking in 49,500 birds, or 72 per cent of the islands' exports, between 2000 and 2010.
The report and the headlines were embarrassing for the Republic, but more crucially, they exposed a gap in our fence against illegal wildlife traders.
In the past, other smuggled animals may have been strapped to human bodies, hidden in suitcases or even stuffed in underwear, but the Solomon Islands birds were legal imports.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), trusting the export documents, had issued permits for the birds to be imported. It later allowed some of the birds to be re-exported to other places such as Taiwan, turning Singapore into a transhipment hub for this fly-by-night trade.
When asked, the AVA said it was the responsibility of the exporting country's authorities to check the source of the creatures before issuing export permits.
But Singapore could do more to protect its reputation, and it should not ignore warning signs.
In 2004, the Malaysian authorities grew suspicious of the large numbers of protected birds and reptiles being shipped from the Solomon Islands to Johor. It investigated, froze the trade and alerted Traffic.
Singapore, which took in three times more birds than Malaysia in the past decade, did not follow suit.
Dr Chris Shepherd, Traffic's South-east Asia deputy director who helped write the Solomon Islands report, told The Straits Times that more smugglers were turning to false documents to fool the importing authorities precisely because the paperwork was often taken at face value.
Animal activists have said for years that Singapore is likely a key stop in the smuggling of wild animals. Traders are drawn to the Republic's efficient trading infrastructure and accessibility to the rest of the region.
They also bank on Singapore's good standing in the world, which means other countries may not check exports that come with our seal of approval.
In the past decade, the number of animal seizures here peaked at 59 cases in 2004, but activists say these represent only a fraction of the wildlife trade. Some animals are intercepted overseas, others slip through enforcement nets.
In 2010, a shipment of 523 African Grey parrots was stopped at an airport in Congo en route to Singapore. The permits were forged.
Conservation groups estimate the global, unlawful trade to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Many cases involve hundreds or thousands of animals, suggesting the work of syndicates.
The AVA has done much over the years to ferret out the criminals. It works with other enforcement agencies such as the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and the Police Coast Guard to monitor Singapore's borders.
It conducts regular workshops and training sessions for checkpoint officers, including teaching them to identify animal species so they will not be hoodwinked by smugglers.
In 1986, Singapore signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), which restricts the trade of vulnerable animals. It is also part of the Asean Wildlife Enforcement Network.
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.
Under Singapore's Endangered Species (Import & Export) Act, anyone who imports, exports, re-exports or possesses Cites species without a valid permit can be fined up to $500,000 and/or jailed up to two years.
But the Solomon Islands report and trends suggest the first line of defence against the rising breed of in-plain-sight smugglers cannot be at the checkpoints.
In the Solomon Islands case, Traffic investigators not only researched the country's breeding facilities, but also looked at the species of the exported birds.
It found that some species such as the yellow-bibbed lory take years to reach breeding age and produce few offspring. Some also retail at fairly low prices.
"In such cases, it is not likely that breeders will go through the trouble to breed the species, investing time and money in what would be a losing venture," Dr Shepherd told The Straits Times.
Another safeguard is to know which animal species are native to the countries that export them to Singapore. If the countries export large quantities of non-native animals, that should be considered a red flag.
Much of this data has been compiled by international wildlife groups. Singapore should get the information, plug gaps specific to our wildlife trade with other countries, and create a database that would help unlock the true state of trade here.
If there is any doubt about a country's wildlife exports, a pre- emptive move to stop the trade and alert the regional or international authorities might be useful.
Another link in the fight is, of course, reducing demand. Greater consumer awareness helps curb demand for illicit and protected animals.
