Malaysia: Wildlife traders netting sales online

P. Aruna The Star 11 Jun 13;

PETALING JAYA: Local wildlife traders are resorting to private chats and exclusive groups over the Internet to sell exotic animals following the enforcement of the Wildlife Con­servation Act 2010.

While the online trade was still rampant, the sales are done in more “secretive” ways, said wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic South-East Asia senior communications officer Elizabeth John.

“Previously, Malaysians negotiated the sales of exotic and endangered animals on public forums and popular trading websites.

“While some may still use these websites, now the traders use private messages to communicate instead of stating everything in the open,” she said here yesterday.

Under the Act, anyone who sets or uses any snare for the purpose of hunting faces harsher penalties, with fines ran­ging between RM50,000 and RM100,000, and jail time of up to two years.

It was reported yesterday that between 2008 and last year, enforcement officers from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) found and destroyed 2,377 snares set by poachers in forests and protected forest reserves.

The global illegal wildlife trade is worth an estimated US$5bil (RM15.46bil) to US$20bil (RM61.84bil) annually, with China, the United States and Europe the prime markets.

Meanwhile on Facebook, a Ma­­­laysian user was found openly selling a critically-endangered bird, a yellow crested Cockatoo, for RM5,000.

The man posted a photograph of the exotic bird, found in Indonesia, along with his phone number.

A user had even replied to the advertisement, asking for the price for a pair of the bird.

A check on a local online forum, under the topic “exotic animals”, showed a user seeking to buy a crocodile and inquiring the price.

Another local website had users trading the Indian Star Tortoise, which is banned from export, and the Radiated Tortoise and Ploughshare Tortoise, both of which are critically endangered.

Elizabeth said it was difficult to catch those trading wildlife on­- line as their identities were kept secret.

“This is why it is so important for Internet users to immediately re­­port to the authorities if they suspect such activities online.”

Perhilitan said it was in the midst of investigating the online trade of two Asian Leopard Cats and a Blood Python, adding that another case involving the sale of two Lesser Bird of Paradise was brought to court last year.