Rachel Kelly Channel NewsAsia 1 Nov 12;
SINGAPORE: Amid the push towards being environmentally-friendly, there are calls for consumers worldwide to reject illegal wildlife products.
According to one estimate, more than 400 rhinoceros have been poached for their horn in South Africa this year, compared to just 13 in 2007.
Asia is seen as a growing market for such products - given rising affluence in the region.
Every year, an estimated 800kg of illicit rhino horn reaches Asian markets.
This is mainly to feed a rising demand traditional Chinese medication products.
While the medicinal properties of the horn are still being debated, experts say what is clear is that poaching the rhino for this purpose is endangering the species.
"Once these species start disappearing we are going to see the whole ecosystem start crumbling away," said Chris R Shepherd, deputy regional director of the conservation organisation TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.
"Imagine it as a building; when you start pulling a few bricks out it doesn't really matter, but you start pulling more and more bricks out, eventually the whole foundation and building is going to crumble around us and it will have a serious impact on people as well; it is not just a few animals disappearing, it is really a whole system being destroyed."
It is legal in certain parts of Africa for rhinos to be hunted for trophies, but poachers have been taking advantage of this system to ship horn for use in traditional Chinese medicine.
At the moment there are about 20,000 wild rhinos left in South Africa.
"The thinking behind these programmes is that if there is some revenue coming in from these culling safaris or trophy hunting safaris, that revenue can be used for conservation of the species, but I don't think that equation really works," said Leon Perera, the CEO of Spire Research & Consulting.
"I think this activity of culling and hunting and blood sports and killing for pleasure does attract a lot of negative attention from the NGO community, from animal activists, and that is going to rebound negatively for the country that does that, in terms of their tourist industry."
He added: "What would probably work a lot better for countries where there are endangered species is to focus on eco tourism."
In Singapore, the zoo has a number of educational programmes to create better understanding of animal species and conservation efforts.
"Around the park, we always try to create experiential learning opportunities for our visitors," said May Lok, director of education at Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
"For instance, we create an opportunity for the visitors to interact with the rhinos, because they get so up close with the rhino the experience is one of involvement and hopefully we can inspire them through these experience to take care of the rhino and be part of conservation efforts."
According to the World Wildlife Fund, groups involved in the illegal wildlife trade have been tapping on Singapore's status as a trading hub.
Earlier this year, TRAFFIC identified Singapore as a key laundering point for illegally-caught birds from the Solomon Islands.
- CNA/xq
