The animal trafficking trade is worth US$10 billion
(S$14 billion) to US$20 billion a year, just behind illegal arms and drugs but
marked by the same kind of global gang networks, official corruption and
cross-border money transfers. And South-east Asia is a major player because of
its rich biodiversity.
THE flapping of wings and unusually high floor mats gave the game away, but
inquisitive Customs officers were still taken aback when they searched the
Singapore-registered car at Woodlands Checkpoint in December last year and found
60 jambuls and magpies making an almighty racket. Same story last August when officers unearthed 50 oriental white-eye song
birds – or mata puteh in Malay – hidden beneath trays of otak otak by an
Indonesian man arriving at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.
These birds are so popular as pets, they can fetch up to $150 each. The
discovery of these two amateurish, low-level traffickers threw a tiny beam of
light on what has become a vast criminal enterprise linking the jungles of
South-east Asia and Africa to the private zoos of billionaires, clinics peddling
traditional medicine and restaurants with wildlife on the menu. The trade rarely makes headlines yet it is worth around US$10 billion (S$14
billion) to US$20 billion a year, just behind illegal arms and drugs and marked
by the same kind of global gang networks, official corruption and cross-border
money transfers.
Globalisation is partly to blame. Increasing affluence and ease of
communication and travel have helped make the illicit trade in rare creatures
more rampant than ever, say experts. Those luckless smugglers caught at Singapore checkpoints also point to
another feature of the trade – the importance of South-east Asia. The region, particularly China, is one of the traffickers’ global hot spots
thanks to its rich biodiversity, a penchant for wildlife in food and traditional
medicine, and a desire among increasingly wealthy people for exotic pets.
Mr Chris Shepherd, senior programme officer at Traffic, the wildlife trade
monitoring network linked to the World Wide Fund for Nature, says: “It’s getting
worse. I have never seen it this bad and I have been doing this job for 18
years.
“As species get rarer, the price goes up and they are more sought after.” The Canadian based at Traffic’s head office near Kuala Lumpur adds: “There is
a growing demand in South-east Asia for pet reptiles and birds. This didn’t use
to be an issue but it’s becoming more and more fashionable, as is eating wild
meat such as owls and snakes.” Traffickers are in a constant battle of wits with the authorities across the
world who have passed a welter of laws protecting wildlife. But despite the good intentions, the sheer size of the black market and the
demand it is meeting are hard to counter.
The traffickers’ wish list is long and varied, and driven in large part by
the rarity value. Bears, pangolins, long-tail macaques and turtles are among the top traded
animals in the region, but a simple list does not hint at the cruelty the trade
can involve. Malayan Sun bears and Asian Black bears are wanted for their bile. A needle is stuck into a bear’s gall bladder and bile siphoned off to be used
in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat ailments from fevers to heart
disease – even though many TCM doctors say a plant can be used instead.
These bears often die from their injuries or develop enormous tumours that
eventually kill them. Luckier bears make it to rescue centres across the region, including
three-legged ones that have been caught in snares or had their feet hacked off
to make bear-paw soup. Pangolins are in such high demand as a delicacy and for their scales, which are
used to treat liver ailments in TCM, that they are trafficked from Africa as
South-east Asia’s population is depleted.
Pangolins are now being shipped from Madagascar, Sumatra, Borneo and Palawan
to mainland Asia and up to China. A variety of tortoises and freshwater turtles are smuggled around the region
for pets or food while the sea turtle eggs are eaten as aphrodisiacs. Long-tailed macaques, unlike other targeted animals, do not come under the
protection of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) and so have no added protection. They are the No. 1 primate used in medical research and many are trafficked
with false papers to the United States and China while others are eaten
locally.
Cites is at the forefront of efforts to curb the illegal trade
in animals. Singapore, like other Asean countries, is party to Cites, which acts
to control trade in 25,000 plant and 5,000 animal species through a licensing
system. It has devised a scale of at-risk animals. Appendix I species are
those threatened with extinction and trading is allowed only in exceptional
circumstances. Trade of Appendix II animals must be controlled in order to maintain their
survival, while Appendix III refers to species protected in one country which
has asked Cites to help control their trade. Trading of these species must be
done with permits.
Each country appoints its own authority to enforce Cites, so it is only as
effective as the country’s will and power to act. Although many South-east Asian nations have strong laws on the books,
enforcement can be rare or weak. Cites also has a loophole. With the right paperwork, the rarest of animals
can be traded with impunity as long as they were bred in captivity. This has led to wide-scale “laundering” of animals, according to Mr Shepherd.
“What’s happening is wild caught animals are exported as captive-bred with
forged paperwork. In many cases, getting something from the wild is much cheaper
than following all the regulations and the risk of getting caught is low,” he
says.
“For example, spiny turtles captive bred in Indonesia don’t reach maturity
until they are 10. Then they lay two eggs and the international market value is
not high, only US$25 to US$30. “Who’s going to look at that and think it’s a good idea as a business
prospect? But to catch from the wild costs just a few dollars; that’s where the
profit comes in.” A more local approach to tackling the issue comes in the form of the
Asean-Wildlife Enforcement Network (WEN) launched in December 2005 and
headquartered in Bangkok. It involves police, Customs and environment agencies from the 10 Asean
countries trying to stop cross-border trade.
Senior officer Manop Lauprasert says the network hopes all the Asean nations
will develop a task force such as those seen in Malaysia, Thailand and
Cambodia. The network also hopes for bilateral border agreements between China and
Vietnam to stop trafficking. “We work with China, which is doing some good things, and, although they are
not in Asean, we would like to include them in future meetings,” he says, adding
that Singapore’s role could be to help fund Asean-WEN which is currently
supported by the US Agency for International Development.
Between January and March this year, it reported 19 law enforcement actions
involving more than 5,659 live and 61,500 dead animals, animal parts and
derivatives. It has recovered 2.7 tonnes of wildlife with a minimum estimated value of
US$4.5 million on the black market. This work has resulted in 17 related arrests
across five countries. Last year, there were 129 law enforcement actions by South-east Asian
authorities, resulting in 156 arrests and 45 convictions across seven
countries. More than 18,540 animals were recovered alive. In total, over 267 tonnes of
wildlife and derivative products were confiscated, with a minimum estimated
black market value of US$40 million.
It has also run awareness projects in Laos and Bangkok and now in Vietnam,
where an English-language billboard has been placed on the road to Hanoi’s
international airport to remind people that wildlife trafficking is
illegal. Singapore is a key player in the enforcement process. It is
known to have strict laws, but that can put it at a disadvantage in the fight
against animal trafficking. A stamp from Singapore’s checkpoints authority is seen as a validation of
whatever is transported, so the shipment is less likely to hit trouble further
along the journey. Fake papers about captive breeding, imports that exceed the
exporting countries’ quotas for particular species and undetected illegal
wildlife can all slip through in this way.
Singapore is also a growing market for smugglers. Data from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), which oversees 25
checkpoints, shows that incidents have tripled. “In 2009, smuggling of items controlled by the Agri-Food and Veterinary
Authority saw a three-fold increase compared to 2008, registering the highest
jump in these detections. From 1,800 cases in 2008, the number ballooned to
5,900 last year,” says an ICA spokesman, who adds that smugglers are getting
more innovative. “Our officers face the challenge to look out for the slightest signs of
tampering on vehicles, and suspicious behaviour of travellers.” While smugglers are caught, a stroll along Serangoon North Pet Walk shows
that hundreds of birds, rare and endangered, from all over the world are on
sale.
“It is likely that some of these birds were imported as captive-bred, but
were in fact taken from the wild in the exporting countries,” says Mr
Shepherd. They must be bred in captivity and have the correct paperwork to be sold in
this way, but Mr Shepherd doubts all the birds meet the criteria. “Some of the birds in the shop exhibit behaviour of wild-caught birds in
captivity such as pulling out feathers and cowering at the back of the cage,” he
says. When contacted, the shop declines to comment. Agri-Food and Veterinary
Authority (AVA) data shows that 1,763 birds were smuggled into Singapore last
year, making them the main illegally traded category used as pets.
This is a huge increase from the 2008 figure of 81 but well below the
6,962 found in 2005. The AVA says the 2009 spike was due to the number of birds found in each
incident. Fish like humphead wrasse and Asian arowana are also popular – 50 were
detected last year, followed by reptiles such as lizards and turtles and mammals
like sugar gliders. So far this year there have been 65 wildlife enforcement cases, with one
prosecution resulting in a $6,000 fine. Also, 34 individuals have had fines
compounded between $100 and $2,500, and 23 warning letters were issued. All
animals rescued by the AVA are handed to the Singapore Zoo, Jurong BirdPark or
Underwater World.
AVA officers conduct regular workshops for ICA and Police Coast Guard
officers on species identification and other factors to look for. Despite the rise in smuggling, only 19 people were convicted of smuggling
live wildlife between 2005 and last year. Penalties ranged from fines of up to
$159,000 and up to eight weeks in jail. In June, a vendor at the Singapore Food Expo was caught selling bear gall
bladders at $700 each following a tip-off to Animal Concerns Research and
Education Society (Acres). He was fined $2,500 for possession of an illegally
imported “bear” gall bladder which was found to be fake in laboratory tests. In March, the AVA seized 320 items being sold as tiger parts from 30 antique
and jewellery shops, also following work by Acres.
Six of the shops were found to be selling real tiger parts. Twenty-six of the
shops paid composition fines of between $500 and $3,000, while the remaining
four were served with warning letters. An AVA spokesman says there is no difference in punishment if the items are
fake if they are being sold as genuine. The Acres Wildlife Rescue Centre, a first in Singapore, began operating last
August. It can take in reptiles and amphibians rescued from the illegal wildlife
trade as well as injured native reptiles and amphibians. It has rescued 577 wild animals – 36 from illegal trading, including sugar
gliders, pygmy hedgehogs, star tortoises, pig-nosed turtles, green iguanas,
soft-shell turtles and a common snapping turtle. It has also saved 541 injured
native species.
Acres executive director Louis Ng says although there is a constant illegal
wildlife trade in Singapore, it is not an endemic problem. “The Government has improved wildlife protection legislation significantly.
Penalties for smuggling and possession of endangered species were increased from
$5,000 per species to $50,000 – sending out a strong deterrent message that
wildlife crime will not be tolerated in Singapore.” He adds that the
recent tiger trade busts were successful thanks to Acres’ liaison with the
AVA. Yet despite Singapore’s strict penalties, the bear gall incident at the food
expo shows the appetite for contraband is high.
Instances like the use of a tiger pelt on the front cover of 8 Days magazine in
February, the market in tiger parts and the rush to buy bear gall bladder in
June show there is demand for endangered animals locally which in turn fuels
this illegal trade. “As you go up the scale, prices and business become more lucrative. In places
like the Middle East and China, people are prepared to pay a lot of money for an
orang utan or turtle,” says Dr Karmele Llano Sanchez, a vet at the International
Animal Rescue Centre’s Jakarta office. “It is a never-ending cycle. If you are not punished for doing something
illegal, you just do it again – much like the drugs or weapons trade.”
Where the markets are
THAILAND
Tiger parts sold for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) fetch the highest sums;
a tiger can fetch up to a million baht (S$42,000). Reptiles like turtles and tortoises, chameleons and snakes as well as
pangolins and marine species such as coral, fish and seahorses are trafficked in
volume. Ivory from Africa is also carved by Thai craftsmen and exported to China and
Japan. This is illegal. Ivory from Thai elephants can only be sold in Thailand
and it cannot be taken out of the country, although most tourists do not know
this. Thailand is a member of Asean-WEN, but law enforcement often lacks manpower
and resources. Tourists are often reminded that it is illegal to buy endangered species, but
Bangkok’s Chatuchak market has many endangered animals for sale.
CAMBODIA
The most targeted animals
are long-tail macaques, pangolins, bears and turtles, which are all used for
medical research, food and TCM. There is a grey area as macaques and crocodiles can be farmed but correct
papers are needed to move them. Often they are caught in the wild and shipped
with false papers. Trafficked animals usually head to Vietnam and on to
China. Although it used to be commonplace to see wildlife for sale at markets or
restaurants, enforcement efforts have made this rarer. Laws were strengthened in
2002 with more species added to the outlawed list.
VIETNAM
Pangolins, turtles, snakes
and long-tailed macaques are traded illegally but the most valuable trafficked
animals are tigers, rhinos and bears, all used mainly for medicine. A countrywide ban on new bears in farms was imposed in 2005 but if a farmer
already owned bears, he could keep them for the animals’ lifespan but extraction
or selling bile is not allowed. Bears must also be microchipped. Bears live up to 30 years in the wild but only five to seven years on farms
due to much poorer nutrition and conditions. If an owner is caught with
unchipped bears, he is fined 30 million Vietnamese dong (S$2,100) for each
animal but can keep them. There are no documented prosecutions for selling bear
bile.
A Vietnamese group, Education for Nature Vietnam, set up a hotline in 2005.
It fielded fewer than 10 calls a month in the early days but now handles 20 to
30 calls a day, with more than 90 per cent of calls from the Vietnamese.
MALAYSIA
The country is considered a
major illegal animal trade hub with species flowing from Indonesia and Africa
towards China. However, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks or
Perhilitan and NGOs alike believe that an update to the 1972 Wildlife Act,
passed on Monday, as well as earlier changes made to the Cites Act make the law
much stronger and should act as a deterrent to would-be traffickers. Malaysia still has large blocks of forest so it is ideally suited for
sustaining tigers in the wild. Five years ago there were 5,000 tigers but now
there are only 3,000.
INDONESIA
It has one of the world’s
largest treasure troves of biodiversity. The World Conservation Union lists as
many as 147 mammals, 114 birds and 91 fish among the world’s most endangered
species. The abundance of wildlife has also proved a curse, with the vast archipelago
an epicentre of illegal wildlife trade. Jakarta is home to three of the world’s
largest bird markets, where many endangered and protected species of birds,
reptiles and fish are traded freely.
The non-profit organisation Profauna says around 115,000 parrots, including
the highly endangered palm cockatoo, are caught every year in the wilds of Papua
and Maluku and sold in such markets. There are laws forbidding illegal trading in Indonesia, yet there is a lack
of proper enforcement. For example, a slow loris, an animal protected under
Indonesian law, can be caught in the wild for about 25,000 rupiah (S$4) and sold
in a market for between 250,000 rupiah and a million rupiah. Wealthy Indonesians believe owning a rare bird species is a symbol of good
luck and social prestige.
Source: The Straits Times
China and Thailand are the two primary destinations for illegal ivory
consignments exported from Africa according to the seizure data.
Seizures of large ivory consignments in Malaysia, the Philippines and
Viet Nam since 2009, were believed to be in transit to China and
Thailand. Some African and Asian countries have made significant efforts
to enhance enforcement. For example, China conducted earlier this year a
major operation which resulted in the seizure of 1,366.3 kg of ivory
and the arrest of 13 suspects. Most of the ivory smuggling containers
leave the African continent through Indian Ocean seaports in East
African countries, primarily Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania.
