TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Regional Director Terrestrial Wildlife Trade Symposium on Combating Wildlife Crime: Securing Enforcement, Ensuring Justice and Upholding the Rule of Law William Schaedla , Ph.D. TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Regional Director Photo: Mark Tomaras, Royal Thai Police, TSEA

Wildlife Trade (and Wildlife Crime) are Multifaceted

Case Study – Pangolins Pangolins have been much discussed at this COP and elsewhere. There are eight extant species, termite specialists, broadly distributed across the old world tropics – Africa to the island parts of Southeast Asia. 40k-60k traded in Asia per year Photo: Stephen Hogg Wildtrack Photography

E.Sopiyan/TRAFFIC Pangolins are traded into two main end markets – Traditional Asian medicine (the scales are considered irreplacable in the pharmacopeia) and as a luxury meat.

There have been some large and well publicized seizures of pangolins, like this 2005 bust in Bangkok. Over 30,000 pangolins seized 2000 - 2007 across East and Southeast Asia (despite an international ban on trade) Logbooks seized by authorities in Sabah show around 22 200 pangolins were killed between May 2007 and January 2009 to supply just one syndicate This bust was a seizure of live animals, but pangolins are also shipped as frozen whole animals. The scales are also shipped dry.

Pangolin Trade Routes in Asia Source: Dan Challender The trade chains behind these shipments comes from collectors operating in forested environments, middlemen purchasers, various processing facilities, and transporters. As pangolins have been extirpated form areas, there has been a steady push to ever more rmeote areas to acquire them. Collection is now occuring forther south and islands.

New Trade Routes from Africa Source: Dan Challender There is also some evidence that sourcing is shifting to Africa for scales, in particular. Shipments of meat, and live animals are probably less practical from the greater distance.

Case Study – Slow Loris Another Southeast Asian species that is traded widely. Again about eight species, noctournal Photo: Chris Shepherd, TRAFFIC

Besides pet trade, also traded for meat and medicine (tonic after child birth, stomach problems, healing wounds and treating sexually transmitted diseases) In some countries it is also used to ward off evil.

Different uses go to different places... The pet trade and the medicinal trade have different end destinations, require different handling regimes, and likely involve different actors.

Case Study – Tigers Photo: Sulma Warne TRAFFIC

Trade chains are often complex

Case Study – Pythons Trade in Pythons from Southeast Asia: from 2000 Skins: 9,846,182 Meat: 238,746 kg Live: 183,720

Python skin trade routes from Malaysia Legal trade Illegal trade Exploited for the international fashion industry: The trade in the Reticulated Python Python reticulatus in Peninsular Malaysia Data compiled from CITES trade database and the trade routes in Malaysia and Indonesia Note: Pythons going to LA and KH

Case Study - Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles With increasing technology at airports and other entry points you can sometimes pick up animals and plants quite easily

Markets are both Physical and Virtual This screen capture of www.adpost.com for Malaysia, also from 14th October 2010 lists the Ploughshare Tortoises available for sale. There were seven adverts for this species with prices up to RM120,000 (USD 39,000). 17

Tortoise and freshwater turtle trade routes Viet Nam and Cambodia Indonesia

Typical Wildlife Crime Interventions Interdictions typically address the ends of trade chains. In cases of high value goods like ivory, shipments may also be interdicted. Enforcement tends not to ‘connect the dots’ and deal with the money people, brokers, and organizers of the trade. The are harder to see and generating sufficient evidence to make arrests is often time consuming or difficult. Agencies may lack the skills and resources necessary to investigate. The culprits may also be able to exert financial, political or social influence to keep themselves clear of investigation.

Thank you!