Elephants and tigers – some of the most majestic creatures that are native to our region. So much so that they are revered as mythical symbols of strengths and power in various cultures.
However, in reality these animals are extremely vulnerable. As truth has it, they are prone to being hunted for their body parts as well as trafficked illegally across many countries, especially here in this part of the world, every day.
As Southeast Asia is a hotspot for biodiversity, it also makes this region the ideal wildlife trading player. For instance, ivories and pangolin scales feed the demand for traditional medicine and luxury ornamental goods in Asia.
And did you know that in 2021, close to 200 wild animals were seized while being smuggled here? In Singapore, demand is seen for both animal products and exotic pets with the former used mainly for ornamental or medicinal value.
The Threat To Endangered Wildlife
Poaching is the act of illegally capturing animals from the wild and one of the popular methods employed by poachers is snaring, where a trap is set in the wild for target animals.
(Credit: Lor Sokhoeurn / WWF-Cambodia)
Elliot Ong, Senior Executive (Conservation) from the World Wide Fund for Nature (Singapore) explains, “When you set a snare, you can’t really tell what animal is going to step inside and get trapped. The snare does not discriminate. If a ranger removes the snare, you could potentially save any of the hundreds of animal species that occur there”.
In fact, tigers in Cambodia went extinct in 2007 primarily due to snaring. And due to rampant snaring by poachers, populations for mammals such as deer, wild boars, wild cows (banteng), and elephants have dropped too.
Together with deforestation, what has resulted is an extensive loss of habitat and dwindling populations for wildlife across countries in Southeast Asia and the world.
To top that, because of the high demand for illegal wildlife trade, especially for certain animal species, it results in a shift in the ecosystem balance and a drop in other animal populations as well. For example, tiger populations will gradually reduce when their food sources like deer and wild boars deplete in their numbers.
Exotic Pets In An Unfamiliar Environment
(Credit: Pixabay)
Exotic pets make lucrative trade with leopard geckos, ball pythons, endangered songbirds, tortoises, turtles, and tarantulas, as some of the highly desired pets here.
With the advent of social media and digital communication, this domestic demand flourishes across messaging apps, online forums and closed online groups. The anonymity of the internet and nature of untraceable activity has also added to the boom in demand online for the trade of these animals.
Owners of these newly acquired pets usually don’t realise that these animals are generally difficult to keep and care for and unfortunately, many of them end up abandoned in the nature reserves and parks in Singapore where they don’t belong.
That increases competition for food and habitat between these newcomers and the existing wildlife as well as the transmission of viruses that our native wildlife may not be immune to.
On the sale of animal products, local authorities here have made moves to curtail such trade.
Fortunately, in September 2021, new laws were introduced to ban the domestic sale of elephant ivory, where it once was openly sold in shops in Singapore. Prior to the ban, some businesses were still seen selling ivory and it was hard to verify if they were of old stock imported prior to the ban on international trade in ivory (CITES).
“We did see a drop in online listings of ivory after the domestic ban came into effect, but we still have to assess if this is a long-term effect or short-term one,” explained Elliot.
High Demand Equals To High Returns For Traffickers
The illegal wildlife trade (valued at billions of dollars annually) is the fourth largest profitable transactional crime worldwide, coming after drugs, arms, and human trafficking.
In Singapore alone, sometime in early October 2022, authorities seized rhinoceros horns in Changi Airport, estimated to be worth S$1.2 million dollars. The rarity of the product is another contributing factor. Because of an animal’s declining numbers in the wild, as they become rarer, they can fetch higher prices.
Organised crime groups and syndicates have exploited this demand and we are seeing more and more exotic species from faraway places like Africa and the Amazon passing through our ports, with Singapore being a transit hub.
Growing upper- and middle-class populations in developing countries, with increasing spending power, are seeking luxury and novelty goods. And the beliefs as well as how buyers perceive the product gives it the value it commands.
(Credit: WWF-Myanmar)
For instance, if a particular animal product is touted as supposedly able to cure cancer, many people are willing to pay lots of money for it. Traffickers utilise loopholes and their networks to successfully smuggle wildlife products into countries.
With Singapore’s strong connectivity in the world as a shipment hub, many traffickers attempt to smuggle illegal pets and wildlife products through our ports. There are challenges to detain and check every shipment coming through due to the large volume of shipments and the time they take to pass through.
“If you do find the individuals who are responsible, they are usually the lowest in the whole chain of the smuggling process. If you don’t catch the mastermind, the smallest guy you catch is easily replaceable by another newcomer,” suggested Elliot.
A Booming Online Marketplace and Cyber-Hero Spotters Doing Their Part
Online, tracing traffickers comes with its own challenges as over the years, and especially during the pandemic, the online marketplace has seen a thriving demand for illegal wildlife products.
Illegal sellers have found advantages to move the trade into the online world.
For one, there are plenty of unregulated spaces on the internet, with some spaces closed off because of privacy concerns. Anonymity is another factor. When illegal sellers are caught on one platform, they can move to other platforms to continue selling, limiting their traceability.
Other conveniences include the ease of making online transactions (eg, through e-payments) and the ability to reach a wider audience of buyers over the internet.
WWF-Singapore is dedicated to saving wildlife from the illegal trade through 3 core approaches – Stop the Poaching, Stop the Trafficking and Stop the Buying.
Through its anti-poaching efforts, WWF-Singapore funds wildlife rangers in their patrolling efforts in many countries regionally. Adequate equipment, salaries and technologies are provided to these rangers to help them in their patrols to detect poachers, apprehend them as well as remove snares that trap animals in the wild.
(Credit: WWF-Myanmar)
On the trafficking front, WWF-Singapore works closely with e-commerce public platforms and shipping companies to assist with delisting illegal wildlife products on their platforms and reduce the occurrence of shipping such products.
WWF-Singapore also runs its Cyber Spotter Program where trained volunteers inspect the internet for illegal wildlife listings.
Since beginning in February 2021, in partnership with various e-commerce and tech platforms, over 14,000 listings were flagged with the help of more than 300 WWF volunteers.
When an illegal listing is spotted, it is referred to the e-commerce platform for delisting. Explaining further, Elliot adds, “We work with these platforms, in conjunction with our Cyber Spotter Program and whatever illegal listings we detect, we inform both the government authorities and companies to take further actions”.
How You Can Play Your Part
Everyone has a part to play when it comes to responsible purchasing.
If you are purchasing pets and animal parts, be sure to make purchases from only reputable shops, sellers, and companies, with the appropriate licences.
Familiarise yourself with what are legal and illegal products. Do note that if you purchase or possess illegal wildlife products, it is an offence for which you can be fined or convicted.
Much of WWF-Singapore’s work is in supporting anti-poaching efforts in countries, developing tools for governments and businesses to detect and reduce the risk of transmitting illegal wildlife items across borders.
You can play your part to save endangered wildlife and stop the flow of illegal wildlife products by making a donation to WWF-Singapore.
If you’d like to join WWF-Singapore’s Cyber Spotter Programme as a volunteer to help stop the illegal wildlife trade, you can do so too!
