Fw: Trafficking via loopholes - comments needed

December 23, 2001

Dear friends of the turtles,

The article below is about the trade in turtles and tortoises taken from The

Star . Thousands including the red eared slider are being smuggled every

year through Malaysia to China for the food trade. This is a sad fact and

since I will be writing something on turtles to highlight on the plight of

the animals, I would very much appreciate suggestions from turtle experts

to enlighten me further with regard to the following:

(i) what other measures can be taken by the Malaysian wildlife authority

to prevent smugglers from re-routine their shipment of turtles through

Malaysia apart from those stated in the text

(ii) what are the preventive measures taken by your country to prevent

smuggling; what is the export quota for tortoises and turtles;

(iii) the cruelty aspect of it from the moment they are caught,

transportation methods and the slaughter methods.

(iv) " cargo in transit, including wildlife, is kept in Free Trade Zone

warehouses that are free of Customs inspections. Wildlife traders know they

can get away with

moving prohibited species through as long as they declare the species is

one that can be traded, " mentioned in the text below. How are we to

overcome this problem? Our Malaysian customs are not trained to identify

wildlife species and their products, as such this is a major problem.

I appreciate any comments from you and please state if you would like me to

quote you in my statement/letters to editor. I thank you for your time and

effort. Wishing you all a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!

The Star - Tuesday, December 18, 2001

On the morning of Oct 22, a wildlife trade investigator stumbled upon row

after row of wooden crates full of fresh water turtles in a market in

Guangzhou province, southern China. The crates were stacked five-high or

more, the animals in them slated for cooking pots in homes and restaurants.

This large collection came, purportedly, from Malaysia. Despite the fact

that Malaysia imposed a ban on the export of all freshwater turtles and

tortoises in July? Yes, because it is so easy to smuggle wildlife out of

this country. Mind you, they might not be Malaysian turtles and tortoises.

In June, China restricted imports of these threatened animals from

Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand, countries that have been supplying

millions of tonnes of terrestrial and semi-aquatic turtles (not to be

confused with the world's seven species of marine turtles) to the Chinese

market for the past decade. Wildlife traders from these countries aren't

about to give up such lucrative trade so they are now re-routing these

animals through Malaysia, reckon conservation bodies like Traffic that

monitor trade in endangered species.

" I strongly doubt that those crates were there since before July, " says Dr.

Peter Paul van Djik, Traffic's South-East Asia senior programme officer.

" And I strongly suspect that some of those animals were re-routed from the

three countries which are banned by China. There is indication that

Malaysia could have become the clearing house for these three countries. It

will be a big step forward for conservation if China bans imports of

endangered

species from Malaysia as well, " he says. He certainly has a basis for his

suspicions. Years of surveys in major source countries, which includes

every country in South-East Asia except Brunei and Singapore, reveal the

Malaysia authorities' relatively light treatment over turtle consignments.

Ironically, it is our good infrastructure and business-friendly trade

regulations that had brought about this situation. For instance, cargo in

transit, including wildlife, is kept in Free Trade Zone warehouses that are

free of Customs inspections. Wildlife traders know they can get away with

moving prohibited species through as long as they declare the species is

one that can be traded.

Investigations by Traffic have uncovered airway bills (declaration forms)

in which the point of origin of a cargo was tampered with in transit to

legitimise an illegal source. Indeed, the reason Malaysia banned the export

of all freshwater turtles and tortoises is the discovery of rampant

falsification of export permits, according to Khairiah Mohd the enforcement

head of the National Parks and Wildlife Department. She says 10 doctored

documents have been uncovered this year. " We are working closely with the

Chinese government in verifying the permits and the temporary ban will give

us the much needed time to strengthen our administration. However, in the

absence of any investigation into the Qing Ping consignment, we can only

regard it as a cargo shipped under a replaced permit after the original

expired after two months,' explains Khairiah.

Admitting that the inspection-free system in Free Trade Zones is open to

abuse, she says that wildlife is seeking the cooperation from relevant

agencies such as Malaysia Airport Ltd and Customs, to be notified of all

wildlife consignments, including those in transit. Customs was not aware of

the magnitude of the problem but Wildlife is trying to raise awareness among

its officers about the extent of such illegal trade. " Customs officers pay

scant attention to wildlife cargo compared with (the attention paid) other

commercial goods like industrial products and contraband, but we are slowly

working on changing this, " she says. Recognising the urgency of the matter,

Wildlife has been reviewing the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 for the past

two years and is currently fine-tuning amendments to it with the legal

division of the Science, Technology and Environment Ministry.

" The amendments would cover all CITES species, both Appendix I and II. We

are also looking at new mechanisms which could enable us to automatically

update our legal provisions according to Cities developments. It is almost

impossible to keep up with new species inclusion every two years, " she says,

adding that she hopes to see the amendments tabled and endorsed at the next

session of Parliament early 2002.

Wildlife is supposed to implement Cites regulations in this country by

monitoring the trade in species that are regulated by the international

convention. Malaysia currently has five species in Appendix II of the

convention. The five are painted terrapin, Asian box tortoise, Impressed

tortoise and Elongated tortoise. The river terrapin is listed in Appendix I.

Malaysia became a party to Cites on Jan 18, 1978. After almost 24 years,

we still do not have local legislation that reflects the concerns of Cites.

While the international convention deems freshwater turtles and tortoises

threatened enough to warrant regulating trade in it, there is a glaring

absence of any protection at all for the 18 Malaysian species in our own

Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Without federal protection, what turtle laws

exist are fragmented and differ from state to state.

Like their marine cousins, freshwater turtles are considered state

resources; this is enshrined in the Federal Constitution so to transfer the

states' rights over these animals to the federal government may evoke fierce

debates. Amending the Constitution is, of course, a major undertaking. But

conservationists deem this matter weighty enough to warrant such an action -

it would, after all, protect a national resouce that is being depleted by

the day.

While Wildlife is working to get the Wildlife Protection Act amended,

Khairiah says it is also trying to put other measures in place. " What we

could do is introduce an export quota. Next year, the quota for the Asian

box turtle would be 50 000 and we are also considering limiting the export

of painted terrapin. "

Since the listing of the Asian box turtle last year, more than a quarter

million of the species were traded. Currently, all of the five species

being traded originate in the wild; Khairiah says it is important that

exporters turn to trading captive-bred animals to avoid depleting wild

stocks; they could even go into commercial farming themselves. " Many

countries are encouraging captive-bred speciments to be traded. Importing

countries are also concerned about exploitation of wild populations and they

will also be imposing strict control of imports. "

Although some shipments may have come from commercial captive breeding

facilities, there is no way to verify the origin of stocks or the species

reared as no operating licence is required from Wildlife. Under such

circumstances, there is no stopping traders from capturing wild turtles. "

Relating his experience in monitoring cross-border trade between Sumatra

and Malaysia, Traffic South-East Asia programme officer Chris R. Shepherd

says

that at the height of the collection activities over the last two years,

close to 25 tonnes of various species of freshwater turtles were being flown

into Malaysia almost every week.

" Air transportation is the preferred mode as it reduces the mortality rate.

The animals are often packed in conditions against International Air

Transport Association specifications. The animals are crammed together to

optimise space, " he says.

Cites requires member countries to incorporate the association's guidelines

on transporting live animals into national aviation laws and enforce them.

But that is not happening here, despite the fact that Malaysia is a member

country.

False-labelling in shipment document is common too, according to Shepherd.

" They (the exporters) will declare that there are three unprotected

species, but there are often more than that.

" This is a serious problem as enforcement officials are often plagued with

difficulties when it comes to identifying species. It is important that

Customs officers are trained to do this. Cites has produced an

identification manual but hands-on training is still lacking, " he says.

Another method, says van Dijk, is to have a pool of specialists stationed

at major gateways of a country who can be enlisted any time when there is a

seizure; this is what is done in The Netherlands.

So, what next?

The Asian turtle crisis was given much needed attention when 45 delegates

from 15 countries, including Malaysia, came together to analyse the

utilisation, trade, biology and conservation of the creatures. Held in

Phnom Penh in December 1999, the workshop on the Conservation and Trade of

Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises in Asia concluded that the trade is larger

and has greater impact on turtle populations than most people know or fear.

The workshop participants urged that all currently recognised turtle

species native to Asia be listed in Appendix II and that some species be

transferred to Appendix I. The painted terrapin has been proposed to be

upgraded to Appendix I.

Van Dijk, who was a key facilitator at the workshop, says the number of

critically endangered species has more than doubled in just the last four

years.

" With three quarters of Asian freshwater turtles now listed as threatened

and over half considered endangered, scientists and conservationists are

calling for far more effective measures to protect these animals that are

heavily exploited in the region primarily for food and traditional

medicine.

According to the Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group on the

IUCN Species Survival Committee, of the 90 Asian species, 74% are considered

threatened.

Over half of them are endangered including 18 critically endangered species

and one is already extinct: the Yunnan box turtle (Cuora yunnanensis).

" Several organisations and individuals are involved in practical

conservation action, " says van Dijk.

" However, overall, tortoises and freshwater turtles do not yet receive the

support and recognition that marine turtles get, even though their

conservation situation is, in many ways, much more serious.

" Without immediate action, we face the likelihood of losing some of these

species forever, " he warns.

Ignored and threatened

OVERSHADOWED by its more charismatic and majestic marine cousins,

terrestrial and semi-aquatic turtles will face a bleak future if legislation

and conservation plans are not put in place soon to regulate trade in these

animals as food, medicinal ingredients and pets, and to halt the destruction

of their habitat.

Indeed, their low profile could mean that these tortoises and terrapins may

vanish without us even realising it.

The lack of comprehensive baseline studies of local species is a major

obstacle to understanding their biology and distribution, information that

is necessary to formulate conservation plans.

According to a Traffic (Trade Record Analysis of Flora and Fauna in

Commerce) trade review written by Dr Dionysius Sharma of the World Wide Fund

for Nature (WWF), the food trade, both international and local, is severely

affecting local populations of these animals.

Eggs of the river and painted terrapins (generally called tuntung) and some

of the softshell species commonly called labi-labi such as the Asiatic,

Malayan and Asian Giant softshell turtles ; are collected by local

communities as a supplementary food source.

The Asian box turtle, Giant Asian pond turtle, Asian brown tortoise and

Black marsh turtle are targeted for their meat, which purportedly has

medicinal value.

It also said the more attractive species, especially juvenile spiny

turtles, Malayan flat-shelled turtles, and elongated tortoises, are

harvested for their interesting shapes and colours that sell well in the

local and international pet trade.

Based on a survey of the local food and pet market during the last 20

years, the report highlighted that there has been a general decline in the

diversity of species.

This is an indication of either a decline in abundance or an increase in

demand in the foreign market. To what extent specimens caught in the wild

can continue to support the foreign trade is unknown.

Population studies of the various species in Peninsular Malaysia are lacking

and are urgently needed, says the seven-year-old report indeed, the report

age underlines the urgent need for such studies to determine the current

state of these animals.

In terms of distribution, several species are more widespread in the

peninsula and are quite abundant, like the Asian box turtle and the Black

marsh turtle; others are more restricted.

Certain species are able to adapt to life in man-made habitats like padi

fields and the streams in rubber and oil palm plantations. But others are

not so adaptable; a notable example is the impressed tortoise that is only

found in high altitude forests on the Main Range in the northern half of the

peninsula.

While natural habitats are being degraded or converted to other land-use

rapidly, it is inevitable that harvesting of freshwater turtles and

tortoises from remaining natural habitats will increase to supply the

demand.

This requires monitoring over the long-term to assess the impacts on the

various species.

Localised and moderate utilisation of these turtles may be possible if

sustainable harvest rates are determined, if at all these are likely.

Short-sighted commercial interests often result in harvesting of animals

beyond any acceptable limits, especially if there is a strong market demand,

the reports adds.

December 23, 2001