Straits Times, Singapore : Singapore a wildlife 'centre' for illegal trade?

Oct 07, 2003

Singapore a wildlife 'centre' for illegal trade?

Although rules here are strict, syndicates are believed to be involved in smuggling and selling these animals

By Sharmilpal Kaur

IN SEPARATE raids carried out within a week of each other, officers from the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) seized rare endangered tortoises, an iguana and two bearded dragons at the homes of collectors.

The first raid netted an endangered Spur Thighed Mediterranean tortoise, three Radiated tortoises, a Red-footed tortoise, three Elongated tortoises and a Pancake tortoise in the home of Dr Francis Seow Choen, a colorectal surgeon at Singapore General Hospital.

Two skinks - a type of lizard - were also found in the two visits to his home last month.

A week later, AVA found an iguana and two two-bearded dragons at another collector's home.

Investigations are continuing and if both men are charged and convicted, they face a fine of up to $5,000 and 12 months in jail.

Although the trade in endangered species here is strictly regulated, with permits issued by the AVA, conservation groups here and abroad say the seizures indicate that the authorities are not doing enough to keep these endangered animals from being smuggled into Singapore.

Every year, the AVA issues about 7,000 permits for the trade, which amounts to about $48 million. Reptile skins make up the bulk of it.

Mr James Compton, director of Traffic Southeast Asia,a non-government body that monitors the wildlife trade based in Malaysia, said: 'Singapore is always in the spotlight because it is a very natural hub - it's like a warehouse for all commodities. In this case, wildlife becomes just another commodity.'

But the legal trade also provides loopholes for smugglers to exploit by doctoring documents for permits.

Mr Chaerul Saleh, a senior species officer with the global conservation body World Wide Fund for Nature based in Jakarta, believes this is partly how bones, skins and teeth from the rare Sumatran Tiger end up here for use in herbal medicines and as ornaments.

He said: 'Some go through Batam and bring the parts to Singapore by boat. Some Singaporeans come to Sumatra to buy the parts directly.'

But live animals are still the bigger lure here, with over 200 pet shops in business now, compared to about 25 in 1990.

For just tortoises and turtles alone, the AVA said that it has caught 24 pet shops selling them illegally since 1998.

Recent checks on pet shops by a local animal rights group, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), have found two shops selling star tortoises and one with an endangered velvet monkey.

Acres president Louis Ng believes some traders and pet shops are involved in the illegal trade here.

One estimate, by another local group, Animal Watch, is that there are four syndicates here involved in wildlife smuggling. Ms Vadivu Govind, who heads the group, said: 'The bulk of exotic pets smuggled in by post, luggage or on travellers' bodies, come from the United States, India and Indonesia.'

Among the most popular American imports are tarantulas, rattlesnakes and scorpions. Rare birds such as the Moluccan cockatoo, a highly endangered species, are among the most common animals smuggled in from Indonesia, she added.

Pet traders here, however, believe that the problem is not that serious.

Bird trader Chua Kah Soon, who has been in the business for 20 years and whose Serangoon North shop sees a $4 million annual turnover, said that before Singapore signed the international convention on wildlife trade in 1986, about 30 per cent of the bird trade was illegal, 'but now I think it is less than 1 per cent'.

The AVA believes the problem is under control.

Citing seizure numbers for the most popular 'catch' - star tortoises - the spokesman said that in the first nine months of the year, the AVA seized 2,938 animals, each worth between $80 and $100 on the market.

Last year, there were 54 cases of illegal imports, exports and possession of endangered wildlife, with another 21 so far this year.