Article Bangkok Post Thursday 30th September 2004

[Guest guest]

CITES/PROTECTION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES

Internet, pet owners new threats

 

 

RANJANA WANGVIPULA

Illegal trade in exotic birds and rare mammals has branched into the

internet and consumer demand is diversifying, wildlife officials say.

 

Endangered species are now popular as food items, drug ingredients and

domestic pets, a new and increasingly popular trend.

 

As wildlife officials struggle to intercept animals smuggled across borders,

they face a new threat in the internet, an electronic world without borders

where traders can arrange sales in greater secrecy.

 

``Some on-line trades obviously break the law. Officials find it hard to

keep up with the trades, and evidence is hard to come by,'' said Mahidol

University biologist Sompoad Srikosamatara.

 

The academic has studied trade in endangered and exotic species on the

internet.

 

Some reptiles and amphibians are under the protection of the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites),

which regulates imports and exports of rare wildlife. In spite of this, Mr

Sompoad said protected species such as the exotic green tree python and the

common tortoise are popular among websurfers, who can be traders as well as

pet owners.

 

Protected or endangered species such as tigers, pangolins, and bears are

already popular overseas as foodstuffs or as ingredients for traditional

medicines. Trade on the internet is considered a new threat to wild animals

and a new headache for wildlife officials, Mr Sompoad said.

 

The news comes as Thailand prepares to host the first Cites international

conference in Southeast Asia, on Oct 2-14.

 

The region is seen as a major centre for supplying protected animals to

consumers, particularly markets in southern China.

 

In the leadup to the conference, at least two Thailand-based international

wildlife groups have written to the government saying the country needs to

do more to protect wild species.

 

Wildlife Fund Thailand says stronger law enforcement is needed, as simple

fines have failed to deter recalcitrant wildlife dealers.

 

Meanwhile, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) is worried about increasing

trade in exotic birds and animal parts along the border.

 

WWF surveys show domestic trade in tigers and orangutans is on the decline,

but WWF director Robert Mather suspects trade along the border will

overshadow any good news.

 

Illegal trade in wild birds had increased by 200%. Tiger heads and skin,

bear heads, and horns of Thai brow-antlered deer (cervus eldi siamensis) had

also been found in Tachilek district in Burma, just opposite Mai Sai

district in Chiang Rai.

 

In its 2003-2004 survey, WWF says these illegal products are ``openly traded

along a road in Burma, with postal services available for some Thai

customers.''

 

Critics say traders take advantage of Thailand's convenient roads and

shipping routes to send illegal products through this country en route to

others in the region.

 

Scaly ant eaters, or pangolins, for example, are taken from Sumatra in

Indonesia to southern Thailand via Malaysia.

 

The animals are then shifted to northeastern Nakhon Phanom and Nong Khai

provinces before being sent across the border to Laos. Eventually they end

up in China.

 

Schwann Tunhikorn, of the Wildlife Conservation Bureau, however, defended

Thailand's conservation record.

 

``We protect wildlife. But in some countries in the region the cost of

living is a big issue and lax conservation can result,'' he said.

 

``The point is not whether smuggling occurs. It's whether we take action,

and we do. We have arrested many smugglers and intercepted many smuggled

species,'' he said.

 

Last year alone, police seized 15,000 pangolins crammed in trucks. This,

WWF's Mr Mather said, could condemn the country as a hub for illegal trade

or, on the other hand, show it is making inroads against trade in wild

species.

 

Thailand had extended protection to rare species such as pangolins,

hornbills, and exotic birds.