FWD: To curb a voracious appetite

October 5, 2004

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This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)

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eatures

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Tuesday October 5, 2004

To curb a voracious appetite

By MICHAEL MATHES

SOME of the world’s rarest species are being pushed towards extinction to

satisfy the growing demand from specialist collectors for increasingly exotic

pets.

The multi-billion dollar wildlife industry, both legal and illegal, has been

fuelled by the rise of a wealthy middle-class in Asia, with rare birds and

reptiles bearing the brunt of their spending power, according to TRAFFIC, the

international wildlife trade monitoring network.

“The increase in purchasing power is now driving an increasing demand for

exotic species as pets, from both inside and outside the region, particularly

for reptiles like tortoises, snakes, and lizards,” said James Compton, director

of TRAFFIC South-East Asia.

Millions of live reptiles are captured and traded each year for the collector

industry. Some creatures, including Indonesia’s Roti Island snake-necked turtle,

the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, and the strawheaded bulbul, have been driven close

to extinction.

Cracking down on the trade will be an issue addressed in Bangkok as 166 nations

gather for a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered

Species (CITES).

“It is a global problem, but South-East Asia is definitely a major hotspot,”

said TRAFFIC’s Chris Shepherd, who has studied the extensive trade in rare

Indian star tortoises.

Thousands of the small reptiles snared in India and Madagascar are brought to

Bangkok each year, where they are taped up and shoved into suitcases for weekly

smuggling trips to dealers around the region, according to TRAFFIC.

Large mammals have been in the sights of collectors for years, particularly in

places like Indonesia, where anti-poaching measures are difficult to enforce

across the numerous islands.

“If you went to Indonesia you could buy virtually any species native to the

country as a pet,” Shepherd said. “Tigers and leopards can be purchased, often

on the Internet. Orang utans, gibbons, bears and crocodiles are quite heavily

impacted by the pet trade as well. It doesn’t take much to wipe them out.”

The United States is one of the largest markets for the illegal wildlife trade,

but its well-funded US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has led efforts to

track down the smugglers.

In 1998, its special agents helped capture one of the world’s notorious animal

smugglers, Malaysian Anson Wong, who was jailed for 71 months for trafficking

exotic reptiles, including hundreds of endangered tortoises which sell for tens

of thousands of dollars each on the underground collectors’ market.

Yet Wong’s case was the last major bust in the business, and Kevin Adams, the

chief of law enforcement for USFWS, said the trade could be quietly shifting to

smaller-scale operations using express delivery services and Internet deals.

Conservationists complain that nations are often powerless, or unwilling, to

tackle the trade in the face of highly organised animal smuggling groups.

“Governments are serious about cracking down on this trade but they’re going to

have to start giving stricter penalties, if they want to make a dent in it,”

Shepherd said.

Singapore has taken a huge step by banning almost all reptiles as pets, he

said. China remains the major Asian destination for a massive portion of the

illegal wildlife trade. While it once focused almost exclusively on animal

parts, including tiger bones and bear bile used in medicines, or in live turtles

or pangolins for the dinner table, the Chinese too are becoming voracious

collectors.

Thailand claims it is taking major steps to reduce its role as one of the

world’s key transit countries. One of the region’s trafficking epicentres is

Bangkok’s Chatuchak weekend market. The huge maze of stalls has been a menagerie

of exotic birds and reptiles for years, but officials say a crackdown launched a

year ago has seen trade shrivel, or at least driven deeper underground.

But it won’t die the death that Thai forestry police commander Sawek Pinsinchai

had hoped.

“There are people behind the trade of big animals like bears and tigers who are

influential businessmen with direct or indirect links with senior politicians,”

he said. – AFP

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