Fewer shops sell tiger parts, but online trade troubles ACRES

MATTHIAS TAY Today Online 30 Apr 15;

SINGAPORE — Over-the-counter sales of tiger parts might have gone down, but online trade involving such items has become a concern, said the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), as it revealed findings from a recent undercover investigation of tiger parts trade here.

During the society’s undercover investigation, which took place between March and April this year, only four of the 153 jewellery and antique shops visited were found to be selling alleged tiger parts.

A similar ACRES investigation in 2010 found 59 out of 134 shops here offering alleged tiger parts for sale.

Tiger parts, such as teeth and claws, are sought after as they are thought to bring good luck to the bearer and serve as protection against evil.

At a media conference yesterday, ACRES chief executive Louis Ng said the findings indicated that there was greater awareness of the issue among shop owners now. “The people that were selling tiger parts five years ago were fined, they were prosecuted and the awareness that was generated through the enforcement, and the investigation (in 2010) have resulted in this significant decline now,” he said.

However, ACRES expressed concerns over the “brazen attitude” of the four shops alleged to have sold tiger parts, despite being aware of the situation. Three of the shops openly displayed tiger parts, while one produced the items upon request.

The findings were submitted to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), resulting in three of the errant shops being investigated and eight pieces of animal parts seized for forensic analysis to determine their authenticity, it said.

The AVA was unable to track down the fourth shop, a makeshift stall, despite visiting the site located in front of People’s Park Complex in Chinatown twice.

Meanwhile, ACRES hopes to eventually bring the number of shops selling tiger parts to zero through community engagement, such as school talks and road shows. It will also continue its undercover operations to identify and nab errant traders, especially online dealers.

Mr Ng said: “I think one of our biggest worries now is that, while we wipe out the trades in shops to a very small percentage, this trade has moved to the online sphere, which makes it slightly difficult to enforce.” A brief online survey conducted by ACRES on Tuesday found over 14 online advertisements promoting tiger parts on that day itself, which the society described as troubling.

In response to TODAY’s queries, an AVA spokesperson said the authority has been regularly monitoring traders’ premises, retail outlets islandwide and online sources for sale of illegal wildlife, as well as their parts and products.

Anyone found possessing, selling, offering, advertising or displaying for sale any endangered species without a permit could be fined up to S$50,000 per species and/or receive a two-year jail term.

The penalties also apply to netizens caught engaging in any of these acts, the spokesperson said.

Trade of tiger parts in Singapore on the decline
Channel NewsAsia 29 Apr 15;

SINGAPORE: There has been a "significant decline" in the trade of tiger parts in Singapore, the ACRES Animal Crime Investigation Unit announced in a press release on Wednesday (Apr 29).

The findings were made after a two-month undercover investigation conducted by ACRES between March and April. It revealed that only four out of 153 jewellery and antique shops investigated in Singapore (2.6 per cent) were offering alleged tiger teeth and claws for sale.

From the four stalls, a total of 13 pieces of alleged tiger parts were offered for sale, with prices ranging from S$70 to S$538.

According to ACRES, this is an improvement from a similar investigation in 2010 where 59 out of 134 (44 per cent) jewellery and antique shops in Singapore offered alleged tiger parts for sale.

ACRES' head of campaign Noelle Seet shed some light on the investigation process: "In order to elicit information without blowing our cover, we do engage them to a certain extent. We interact with them and we come in and say 'I am buying this for someone' or you know, 'I have lost this particular pendant and I am looking for something like that, do you happen to have it?' And when they are more comfortable with you, they will actually reveal a lot more."

Details of the investigation and all the evidence collected have been forwarded to the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), said ACRES.

During this year's investigation, more than half of the shopkeepers approached told investigators that the sale of tiger parts was prohibited by authorities, or required permits, said ACRES. Several shopkeepers said they stopped selling tiger parts after the authorities fined them and confiscated their products several years ago.

Chief executive of ACRES Louis Ng shared his worry that the trade has moved to online, making it "slightly difficult to enforce", but he promised the society would continue their sting operations to nab the lawbreakers.

"If you continue to sell them, we will catch you eventually," he warned.

However, Mr Ng added: "It is positive that there is a significant decline in the trade in tiger parts in shops in Singapore. We look forward to partnering AVA and are confident of completely wipe out this illicit trade here,” said Mr Louis Ng, Chief Executive of ACRES.

Mr Ng said the public can call ACRES at their hotline 9783 7782 to report the selling of tiger parts.

- CNA/eg/hs