Wildlife trafficking in video

"Wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar industry that routinely causes extreme cruelty to individual animals and often threatens the very survival of the species. The illegal trade alone is worth an estimated $5 billion to $20 billion annually, and the Congressional Research Service reports that “the illegal wildlife trade is among the most lucrative illicit economies in the world behind illegal drugs and possibly human trafficking and arms trafficking.”

Wildlife Trafficking in Brazil

 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (NTN24) - The Brazilian rainforest is alive with a huge range of colorful wildlife of all shapes and sizes. But this wildlife is under threat from an increasingly aggressive animal trafficking network. With lesser criminal penalties, animal trafficking is almost as lucrative as drugs and arms trafficking.

Wildlife Trafficking in Indonesia

Al Jazeera English is marking five years on air this month and looking back at some of the stories we covered on our first day of broadcast. One of the first reports was a special look at animal trafficking across Asia. It is a multi-billion dollar global industry, out-weighed only by the illegal weapons and drugs trade. So after five years, has anything changed? Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen reports from Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.

Wildlife Trafficking in Peru

From monkeys to macaws, private collectors can get their hands on most endangered animals, if they are willing to pay the price. The trafficking of wild animals generates some 20 billion dollars a year worldwide. Under Peruvian law, anyone caught with an endangered animal is liable to be punished by a prison term. Yet while rare animals live in cages, not a single human trafficker has served any time behind bars. Is Peru losing the battle against this illegal trade?

Wildlife Trafficking in Thailand

Illegal wildlife trading in thailand harms the economies of south east asia as tourists only pay money to see wildlife in their natural habitat and national parks. Wildlife trading will cause species to go extinct if it continues. Please help the wildlife police by reporting illegal wildlife traders and avoid buying endangered species goods in shops and restaurants. Look after the environment and it will look after you!

Wildlife Trafficking in Nicaragua

Wildlife Trafficking in USA

 

The smuggling of protected wildlife into the US is a multi-billion dollar trade

Thousands of wild animals are trafficked through airports

Thousands of wild animals are trafficked through airports. 1 in 3 survives. This public service announcement was produced by AsiaWorks Television with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Notorious wildlife criminal Sansar Chand gets bai

New Delhi, May 31: Notorious poacher and wildlife smuggler Sansar Chand, often termed as “the Veerapan of North India” was today granted bail by a Delhi court in a 2005 case, involving violation of the Wildlife Act.

Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Kumar Jain granted bail to Sansar Chand, who is currently lodged in a Jaipur jail in Rajasthan for various other wildlife offences.  Chand was arrested in June 2005 by Delhi Police from Paharganj area here after which the CBI had taken him in the custody.

During his interrogation, Chand had provided several clues to the CBI and also pointed at the existence of an organised crime syndicate engaged in a large-scale operation across various wildlife sanctuaries across the country.

The agency subsequently in 2005 had chargesheeted him under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), a first against any wildlife criminal

Sansar Chand was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 and one surety of the same amount. He, however, would not be out of jail owing to several other cases pending against him in other courts.

He is an accused in numerous cases under the Wildlife Protection Act for poaching of tigers in the Sariska tiger reserve. The ASJ granted bail to him after his counsel Pramod Dubey submitted that he has been in jail for over six years while the maximum punishment under the Wildlife Act itself is seven years.

His bail plea was opposed by the CBI on the ground that he has been charged under MCOCA. The court, however, said mere pendency of MCOCA case cannot be a ground for denying bail. Besides Chand, others who were chargesheeted by the CBI were Sudesh Kumar, Babu, Badal and Ritu.

While under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), maximum punishment for poaching does not exceed seven years, conviction under MCOCA may entail life imprisonment.

Source: indiatvnews.com

Wildlife trafficking casts negative light on Malaysia

The latest major attempt to smuggle wildlife out of the country was reported in The Star. Forty-six pangolins hidden inside a car booth were discovered by the Kedah Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan). The pangolins worth RM43,000 were meant for export.

It has in the past been reported that other animals like the Malaysian tiger, the honey bear and various species of monkeys were poached for their body parts. However what we are facing today is not small time poaching but extensive wildlife trafficking, an illicit business running into billions of ringgit.

Over the years Perhilitan has been endeavouring to stamp out this menace without much success. The Law and Enforcement Division of Perhilitan has had more stringent laws passed and sentences increased for convicted wildlife smugglers but this does not seem to have deterred them.

In the second half of 2011 alone a consignment of 664 elephant tusks with a value of RM2.3 million was uncovered in Penang. Two weeks later an even bigger transhipment from Tanzania meant for China consisting of 695 elephant tusks worth RM3 million was uncovered at Port Klang. It appears Malaysia is is not only gaining adverse publicity with its illegal wildlife trade but is unintentionally on its way to becoming a hub for international wildlife smuggling.

According to Bernama, experts have estimated that the global wildlife trade is US20 billion (RM60 billion) annually, second only to drug trafficking. Freeland, an organisation “For a world free of wildlife trafficking and human slavery” believes that the man on the street can play his part in eliminating this wildlife debilitating activity by being conscious of and making the following a part of daily living:

• Report any evidence of wildlife trafficking or sale of protected species you notice or hear about.

• Be an informed consumer by finding out where products come from and what they are made of before you purchase them.

• Keep up to date – follow Freeland on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Subscribe to the Freelander e-magazine.

• Keep your family, friends and community leaders informed about the scale and impact of the illegal wildlife trade. Get them to take responsibility too.

The extent of the trade uncovered in Malaysia to date may only be the tip of the iceberg. Perhilitan and other relevant authorities must ensure that the laws enacted are enforced to the maximum. ‘Lizard Kings’ must pay in full for their part in enabling this dismal trade to flourish.

Source:  Helen D'Cruz (http://cj.my)

Malaysian Maritime saved 26 pangolins from ending in cooking pots

Image Source: mmea.gov.my

Image Source: mmea.gov.my

Alor Gajah: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) saved 26 pangolins from ending in cooking pots after detaining two men at the Pulau Hanyut waters here last night.

Kuala Linggi MMEA Capt (Maritime) Abu Bakar Idris said the two men, aged 40 and 41, were in a boat at 8.15pm and tried to escape when spotted by the MMEA vessel that was on patrol in the area.

Abu Bakar said when spotted by the MMEA, the boat sped off to the Malaysia/Indonesia border towards Banda Hilir but the MMEA vessel managed to intercept the boat about five nautical miles from Pulau Hanyut.

"Upon inspecting the boat, we found 26 sacks filled with pangolins while the duo failed to show any documents for the animals," he told reporters here today. He added that the suspects may have thrown a number of sacks into the sea to erase evidence.

Abu Bakar said initial investigations revealed that the pangolins, an exotic meat here, was worth RM50,000 and smuggled into the country from Indonesia to be sold in Melaka.

Source: NST

46 pangolins rescued from car boot

ALOR STAR: Forty-six pangolins, worth RM43,000, were saved from the cooking pot yesterday. The animals, which were bound for exotic food restaurants in a neighbouring country, were found in the boot of a Toyota Camry at a traffic light in Changlun near here at 8.30am. Kedah and Penang Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) officers had trailed the car for about 30km from the Hutan Kampung Toll Plaza near here.

The car driver pushed the officers away and fled the scene on foot when the Perhilitan team approached his vehicle. State Perhilitan director Rahim Ahmad said four of the pangolins were juveniles. Rahim said he believed that the pangolins were to be supplied to Thailand.

"Prior to the discovery, we conducted an investigation to locate the poacher following a tip-off from the public." Rahim said the department had lodged a report to seek the police's help in locating the suspect.

Pangolins are much sought after as exotic meat and it is believed the consignment was being smuggled to Thailand. Rahim said the pangolins would be released in the forest reserves of Pedu, Padang Terap and Ulu Muda.

Source: NST

Wildlife officials nab online exotic pet seller

RAKING IN THOUSANDS: 'Female customer' helps expose mechanic, suppliers

The Wildlife and National Parks Department succeeded in seizing three leopard cats from an Orang Asli in Kampung Simpai, Pekan

KUANTAN: FOR more than a year, a 30-year-old mechanic had been managing a website selling exotic pets and raking in thousands of ringgit each month from his customers through the Internet.

His online activities came to an end last week, however, when a female customer who called and enquired about the exotic birds on his website exposed his illegal business to the state Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).

He was arrested on May 23 and the following day, the suspect led the enforcement team to one of his suppliers at an unnumbered house in Kampung Simpai Orang Asli settlement in Pekan. There, the team seized three leopard cats (kucing batu), 15 blue-crowned hanging parrots (burung serindit) and two hill mynahs (burung tiong mas).

The 51-year-old supplier, who owns an oil palm plantation at the settlement, kept the endangered species in several cages near his house and initial investigations revealed that he had been actively poaching and selling them to the middleman. Sources revealed that Perhilitan had been monitoring the website operator's activities and modus operandi for several months before laying the trap and managed to nab the suspect last week.

"He would post the photographs of the exotic pets on the website and would only deal through the phone. Customers were required to transfer the amount which had been discussed to a bank account number. "Upon receiving the payment, someone would deliver the animal to the respective buyer. We believe the suspect operates a syndicate and we are tracking down the other members," said a source.

Investigations revealed that the website operator purchased the leopard cats for RM250 each, parrots between RM80 and RM100 each, and hill mynah's at RM15 each before selling them at RM1,500, RM600 and RM50, respectively.

State Perhilitan director Khairiah Mohd Shariff said the department was in the midst of identifying the other suppliers, believed to be Orang Asli at nearby settlements who have been providing endangered animals to the syndicate. She said Perhilitan had recorded statements from both the suspects before releasing them on bail.

Source: NST

Nature conservation and ecotourism in Malaysia

National Elephant Conservation Centre, Kuala Gandah, Pahang 

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) established National Elephant Conservation Centre in 1989. The centre is a base for the Elephant Relocation Team, which began the elephant translocation programme in 1974.

The only one of its kind in Malaysia, the team is dedicated to locating, subduing and then translocation problem elephants from areas where their habitats are constantly being encroached by plantations, to other suitable habitats throughout Peninsular, including Taman Negara National Park. Over the past 30 years the 24 strong team has helped to prevent the further decline of the elephant population by relocating more than 450 wild elephants.

In addition of being the home to the translocation team and a herd of resident elephants, the centre also carries out public awareness activities related to the conservation issues of elephants in Malaysia. It also supports research activities on elephant translocation and conservation. The centre is open to visitors throughout the year. Visitors can ride the elephant within the centre; assist in bathing and feeding them.

The awareness activities strive to educate the public about the importance of the species and habitat protection. Visitors are encouraged to view a video presentation on elephant translocation at the centre. Upon request special programme can be arranged for school groups. A scheduled visitor’s programme is available, which could be referred under the “Visitor Timetable” below.

The Resident Elephants at the Centre
The centre houses a number of resident elephants which were brought in from Thailand and Myanmar. These elephants are trained and used in translocation exercise of catching problem wild elephants in throughout Peninsular Malaysia. The centre also looks after orphaned elephants to ensure their continued survival.

The Asian Elephants
The Peninsular Malaysian elephants belong to the Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) is listed as a critically endangered species, with less than 40,000 wild elephants in Asia, including a maximum of 1,200 wild elephants in Peninsular Malaysia. Protecting the Asian elephants help safeguard thousands of other species within its habitat. The elephant creates vital natural pathways by knocking over trees, allowing smaller species to feed, as well as dispersing plant seeds in its dung. However, due to habitat loss, elephants are forced to hunt for food in convert areas surrounding forest such as plantations, where they raid crops on a massive scale. This is why the translocation team has such a dire responsibility to move these elephants, to prevent them from otherwise being shot by farmers, or simply dying of starvation.

Image Source:http://www.myelephants.org

Visitor Timetable at the Centre
Visitors are encouraged to participate in activities from 2.00 pm onwards.

Time	Activities
2.15 pm	ELEPHANT RIDE Visitors are invited to ride and elephant around the centre.
2.30 pm	BATHING Visitors can join the elephants as they bathe and swim in the river under staff supervision.
3.30 pm	FEEDING Visitors can participate in feeding the elephants, their dinner of banana, carrot, papaya etc.
3.45 pm	VIDEO SHOW Visitors may view a video on issues surrounding wild elephants, diminishing habitat and translocation

Here you’re not only able to watch elephants in the wild, but also feed, ride and swim with them

How to Get There
Visitors are encouraged to contact the centre to facilitate arrangements and to determine whether the centre can accommodate your visit especially if you are coming in a big group. Visitors are advised to bring with them additional clothing should they wish to participate in bathing activities with the elephants in the river. The centre welcomes visitors to the National Elephant Conservation Centre with the aim of educating with outdoor activities.

No admission fees but donations can be contributed to the elephant trust fund. www.myelephants.org

Your Support and Contribution Needed
The National Elephant Conservation Centre at Kuala Gandah is managed by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia. Continuous efforts are being undertaken to enhance the existing facilities either for research and development or visitors to the centre. The Department strives to make this centre as the region’s most outstanding elephant training and conservation centre. We welcome any form of assistance and support.

Enquiries pertaining to assistance and contribution can be forwarded to the staff at the centre. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia has established the Elephant Trust Fund to facilitate donation from the public. You can also forward your enquiries by writing to the following address:

Head
National Elephant Conservation Centre (NECC)
Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP/PERHILITAN)
Kuala Gandah, 28500 Lanchang
Pahang Darul Makmur
Tel: 09-2790391

 THIS ELEPHANTS NEED YOUR DONATIONS

For more info, go to Donation pages

 

Two in Thailand held for smuggling carcasses from Malaysia

BANGKOK: Thai police have arrested two men in connection with the smuggling of tiger and leopard carcasses from Malaysia. They picked up the men – a Thai and a Vietnamese – in Kannayao yesterday and seized the carcasses of two tigers and two leopards. Central Investigation Bureau deputy chief Maj-Gen Sriwara Rangpramnakun said initial investigations revealed that the carcasses were destined for China, enroute Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. He said the carcasses were smuggled into Thailand from Malaysia through Sadao in Songkhla.

Photo: FREELAND Foundation / AP

According to the police, the men claimed that the dead tigers could fetch up to 700,000 baht (RM70,000) each. Perhilitan, the Wildlife Protection and National Parks Department, said it had come across quite a number of cases of Malaysian-registered luxury cars being modified to hide illicit cargo of endangered animals. Another tactic was to hide illegal wildlife by mixing them with products such as fish and vegetables while some traffickers try to pass off the animals as airline cargo.

Under the Wildlife Conservation Act, which went into effect recently, those caught smuggling endangered wildlife could face a fine of up to RM500,000 and mandatory jail time. 

Source: Bernama

Species on the edge

Throughout South and Southeast Asia and Indochina, populations of Asian elephants and rhinos cling to survival in some of the few remaining homes that sustain them. The future of these spectacular creatures is clearly at risk, for they live in a rapidly changing environment that they must share with humans struggling for sustainable livelihoods.

ASIAN RHINOS
Widely slaughtered for their horn – a highly prized commodity in traditional Asian medicines – and decimated by the destruction of their lowland rainforest habitat, many Asian rhinos now hover on the brink of extinction.

Sumatran Rhino Distribution Map (Image Source:www.rhinos-irf.org)

Sumatran Rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

The Sumatran rhino – which once ranged from Assam in India to Indochina, Malaysia, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo – lost at least half its population in the decade from 1985 to 1995. Today, scientists estimate, there may be fewer than 300 wild Sumatran rhinos left in scattered pockets in Sumatra, Borneo, and Peninsular Malaysia.

Javan Rhino Distribution Map (Image Source:www.rhinos-irf.org)

Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus)

Historically, the Javan rhino roamed from Assam through Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao P.D.R., Vietnam, Sumatra, and Java. Today, fewer than 60 remain in Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, and no more than 10 scramble for survival in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park.

Greater One-horned Rhino Distribution Map (Image Source:www.rhinos-irf.org)

Greater One-Horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis)

The greater one-horned rhino could once be found from Pakistan all the way through India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar. By the turn of the century, this species had vanished from the majority of its range, and today, only about 2,400 survive in India and Nepal.

Asian Elephant Distribution Map (Image Source:iucn.org)

Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
Killed for their ivory, meat, and bone, and for their live young, Asia’s last remaining elephants continue to decline in number in the face of poaching and habitat destruction. As recently as 1995, only 35,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants were thought to remain in the wild (as opposed to 10 times as many elephants in Africa). Since then, several populations have dwindled still further, and scientists fear that current populations may have fallen well below 1995 estimates.

Source: panda.org

Attempt to smuggle pangolins foiled

 

NINETY-FOUR pangolins believed to be bound for the cooking pots in the region were seized by the authorities at the cargo complex in Batu Maung, Penang. The importer had shipped the animals in boxes from Sabah and declared them as crabs.

However, checks by the Penang Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) and the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services (Maqis) found that 43 of the 49 boxes contained pangolins. State Perhilitan director Jamalun Nasir Ibrahim said they were still investigating where the protected species worth about RM106,000 were heading. “We believe the animals will be sold in foreign markets where the demand for exotic meat is high. “The price of the pangolin meat can go up to RM220 per kg.

“We have not arrested anyone yet. But we have information on the importer and exporter,” he said at the Perhilitan office in Jalan Gurdwara, George Town. The smuggling attempt was foiled at about 12.30pm on Thursday in an operation led by state Maqis chief Abdul Hamid Sulaiman and Perhilitan officer Tang Teong Kim at the Kuala Lumpur Airport Services’ (KLAS) cargo complex.

Jamalun said the case was being investigated under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716) and if convicted, the offender would face a fine between RM50,000 and RM100,000 or a jail term up to three years. In a separate case, the department’s licensing unit led by officer Rofley Ambuka raided a petshop in Bukit Mertajam and found 103 turtles not listed in its registry.

There were 40 Southeast Asian Box Turtles (Cuora amboinensis), 41 Giant Asian Pond Turtles (Heosemys grandis) and 22 Black Marsh Turtles (siebenrockiella crassicollis) with a total market price of RM7,000.

Source: thestar.com

Cobras in Papaya

GEORGE TOWN - A shipment declared as papayas was found to contain hundreds of cobras and freshwater turtles worth some RM110,000 (S$45,000) meant for the cooking pot in Hong Kong.

The animals were rescued by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) in a joint raid with the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services at the KL Airport Services local cargo complex in Batu Maung near here.

Penang Perhilitan director Jamalun Nasir Ibrahim said the 555 cobras and 171 turtles were found inside 80 polystyrene boxes which were kept among 100 boxes of papayas in a container.

The shipment, he said, was declared as papayas bound for Hong Kong. He said the driver of the lorry transporting the container was arrested during the raid around 4.30am on Wednesday.

"We arrested the driver, who is in his 40s, to facilitate investigations to track down the mastermind," Jamalun said yesterday.

 

He believed a syndicate was behind the smuggling of the giant Asian pond turtles (Heosemys grandis) and the monocellate cobra (Naja kaouthia).

"We believe the animals were to be smuggled out to meet the demand for exotic animal dishes," he added.

Jamalun said the cobras could fetch RM200 each for the bigger ones and about RM800 each for smaller ones while the turtles cost about RM200 each.

Both species, he said, were listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which meant that trading in them was only permitted with an export permit and certificate of origin.

Based on the shipment's documentation, he said, the papayas were harvested from a farm in Kedah.

Jamalun said the case was being investigated under Section 10 of the International Trade in Endangered Species Act that carries a fine of not more than RM100,000 for each animal but not more than RM1mil in aggregate, or a maximum seven-year jail term or both.

Source: thestar.com