Record haul of elephant ivory
seized in Singapore, with pangolin scales, worth over $66m in total
JUL 23, 2019,
10:52 AM SGT
UPDATED
JUL 23, 2019, 6:43
PM
SINGAPORE - A record 8.8 tonnes of elephant ivory was
seized from three containers on Sunday night (July 21) in what is believed to
be one of the largest seizures that the world has seen in recent years.
The ivory is estimated to have come from nearly 300
African elephants. Just three months earlier in
April, Singapore seized 177kg of cut-up and carved elephant ivory.
Alongside the record ivory haul, 11.9 tonnes of pangolin
scales were also confiscated in the operation. It was the third
shipment to be intercepted this year, said the National Parks Board (NParks),
Singapore Customs and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority
(ICA) in a joint statement.
The containers, which were en route from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo to Vietnam, were declared
as containing "timber" but were found to contain pangolin
scales estimated to be worth about $48.6 million, alongside $17.6 million worth
of elephant ivory, when they were inspected by the authorities.
In April, two large shipments of pangolin scales - both bound for
Vietnam from Nigeria - were intercepted by the local authorities within a week
of each other. They were found to contain 12.9 tonnes and 12.7 tonnes of scales
respectively.
With this seizure, Singapore has seized a total of 37.5
tonnes of pangolin scales since April.
The shipments were believed to be two of the largest
single hauls the world has seen in recent years. The last one on record was in
China, where 11.9 tonnes of scales were seized in 2017.
Pangolin scales and elephant ivory
seized by Singapore authorities, pictured on July 23, 2019. ST PHOTO: JASON
QUAH
An estimated 2,000 giant pangolins (Smutsia gigantea) are believed
to have been killed for the scales confiscated in the latest shipment.
The agencies said China's General
Administration of Customs had shared information that enabled the successful
seizure at Singapore's Pasir Panjang Export Inspection Station.
"The Singapore Government adopts a zero-tolerance
stance on the use of Singapore as a conduit to smuggle endangered species and
their parts and derivatives. Our agencies will continue to collaborate and
maintain vigilance to tackle the illegal wildlife trade," they added.
Native to Asia and Africa, the ant-eating pangolin is the
only mammal covered in scales and curls into a ball to defend itself from
predators.
Pangolin scales, which are made of keratin, are in demand
in Asia for use in traditional Chinese medicine despite there being no
proven medicinal benefit from their use. Pangolin meat is also considered a
delicacy in some cultures.
Singapore has seized a total of 37.5 tonnes
of pangolin scales since April. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Experts who spoke to The Straits Times about the earlier
seizures had said the large quantities of pangolins involved in the shipments
pointed strongly to the involvement of criminal networks.
Ms Bridget Connelly, an analyst conducting research on
wildlife trafficking with C4ADS - a non-profit based in the United States -
told The Straits Times that only a trafficker with a significant source of
funds can bear the financial risk of consolidating the animal parts from
poachers and middlemen, and exporting them.
She added: "Wildlife trafficking is most efficient
and cost-effective when it is done at scale. The poacher isn't going to have
the means to ship the product to Asia, nor is the middleman, who may collect
from several poachers."
The pangolin is believed to be the world's most
trafficked mammal. There are eight species of pangolin, all of which are
considered threatened with extinction on the International Union for
Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
According to experts, over a million pangolins were taken
from the wild between 2000 and 2013. Current populations of pangolins in Asia
are thought to be low enough that traffickers have turned to African regions to
feed the demand.
The Singapore authorities also intercepted the
shipping of pangolin scales in Singapore in 2015 and 2016.
Ms Connelly pointed out that a key problem in stopping
illegal wildlife trade was the lack of detection or, when detection occurred,
the lack of sufficient penalties to deter traffickers.
"Often, even if wildlife traders are arrested, they
will have minimal sentences or relatively small fines. Because of the high
reward and low risk, the wildlife trade has continued to flourish," she
said.
Singapore is a signatory to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).
Under local laws - the Endangered Species (Import &
Export) Act - the penalty for the illegal import, export and re-export of
wildlife is a fine of up to $500,000 and may include two years' imprisonment.
Earlier this month, an international operation involving
the police in 109 countries saw thousands of wild animals seized in a crackdown
on illegal wildlife trade. Operation Thunderball, based in Singapore, was the third such
Interpol mission in recent years aimed at transnational crime networks.
Ms Connelly said Singapore plays a significant role in
international maritime trade routes and is heavily exposed to networks using
its port to traffic wildlife products.
She said: "Because wildlife traffickers operate
across jurisdictions, collaboration among international, regional and
local actors at every stage in the supply chain is crucial to understanding and
effectively disrupting the networks.
"When a seizure is made, it is important that
consignee and consignor information is shared with the authorities in both the
origin and destination jurisdictions as to more effectively prevent such
shipments from being successful in the future."
The agencies said that the animal parts will be destroyed
to prevent them from re-entering the market.
Ref: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/record-haul-of-elephant-ivory-seized-in-singapore-together-with-pangolin-scales-worth-overRelated Story:
https://www.straitstimes.com/askst/illegal-trade-in-wildlife-south-east-asias-tragedy
Other Stories:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ivory-elephant-tusks-pangolin-scales-animal-singapore/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49079720
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