Singapore: Seized: 500kg of python skins

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Seized: 500kg of python skins

Haul from a lorry on Causeway which was carrying audio parts

 

The Straits Times

30 July 2005

 

by K.C. Vijayan

 

More than half a tonne of illegal dried python skins, worth around

$45,000, was seized from a lorry crossing the Causeway into

Singapore on Wednesday night.

 

The skins, which had been hidden in a large consignment of audio

speaker parts on the Malaysian-registered vehicle, were spotted by

the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers using a

radiographic scanning system.

 

The 36-year-old Malaysian driver was arrested and referred with the

confiscated items to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA)

for further investigation, said an ICA spokesman,

 

It is the first time illegal python skins have been seized on the

Causeway.

 

Last October, a shipment of 40,000 python and monitor lizard skins

worth $800,000 was intercepted while being smuggled in a barge from

Sumatra. The 65-year-old Indonesian skipper of the vessel was jailed

for three months and fined $5,000.

 

Industry players said Wednesday's foiled bid is an indication of the

huge demand for snake skins among global fashion houses, whose

supplies are limited under quotas set by the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

 

The reticulated python, the world's largest snake, is particularly

prized for its attractive markings.

 

A spokesman for the Singapore Reptile Skin Trade Association

confirmed that here is currently a boom in demand for snakeskin

products.

 

Singapore, he said, has been a major international trading centre

for the reptile skin trade since 1960s. Most of the skins imported

here are re-exported to countries like France, Italy and Spain, with

smaller consignments headed for Japan and United States.

 

Said the spokesman: " Our reputation has been due to the efficiency

in processing import-export procedures and the trust built among the

relatively small number of dealers in the trade and their clients. "

 

" We would therefore like to see the illicit trade wiped out as

quickly as possible. "

 

He admitted that legitimate traders would not be able to meet demand

if it went above current limits.

 

" Snakes, unlike crocodiles are captured from the wild, so it's

limited, because the endangered species laws do not allow you to

grab as much as you want. With crocodiles, you can increase the

supply because many of them are bred in farms. "

 

The illicit trade had minimal import on the association members'

business, he said.

 

AVA spokesman Lye Fong Keng said Singapore's reptile skin trade is

worth about $150 million annually. Coming soon after the AVA raid

that netted endangered turtles being openly sold in pet shops here,

Wednesday's haul could be evidence of a thriving illegal trade.

 

Said Mt Louis Ng, executive director of the Animal Concerns Research

and Education Society: " What is needed is adequate deterrents and

vigorous enforcement. "

 

" Look at the Indonesia Skipper who was slapped with only $5,000 fine

and three months' jail for an $800,000 offence. There is nothing to

deter him from doing it again. "

 

The AVA is understood to be reviewing the provisions of the current

Act, including the penalties.

 

 

Fashion industry fuels demand

 

The demand for snakeskin products is increasing.

 

An Internet check revealed dozens of sites and companies selling and

manufacturing products made from reptile skins.

 

Python skin is currently the rage among fashion designers.

 

Snake skin is wonderful to work with, says designers, because it is

large enough to require only a few seams – and it is cheaper than

crocodile skin. In some countries, the manufacture of and trade in

reptile-skin articles – such as coats, shoes, bags and belts – are

permitted.

 

The reticulated python (picture below) is the largest species of

python living today. Its large size and the distinctive scale

pattern on its scales make its skins very popular for leather

products.