Singapore’s ivory ban is a win for conservation but we must double down on wider conservation efforts, says WWF-Singapore’s Kim Stengert.
Led by the National Parks Board , these acts of enforcement were a true testament of the country’s zero-tolerance to illegal wildlife trade.over the National Day weekend, Singapore announced the latest highlight of our fight against illegal wildlife trade: An ivory ban.It is generally estimated that customs intercepts 10 per cent of all contraband including drugs, weapons, and presumably ivory.
Officials found 11.9 tonnes of pangolin scales and 8.8 tonnes of elephant ivory in a container from the Democratic Republic of Congo being transshipped through Singapore to Vietnam. Wildlife populations continue to dwindle as the overexploitation of many other key wildlife including pangolins, sharks, saiga antelopes and songbirds remain widespread today.These latest large-scale seizures had one thing in common: Africa was the leading source country, Singapore the transit point and Vietnam the destination. Case in point: Our little red dot has unwillingly facilitated the trade of the species and its products as the largest transshipment hub in the world.
To find the kingpins, illegal wildlife trade must be linked to money laundering and cybercrime investigations. We recommend the seizure of assets and an increase in the maximum fine per shipment from S$500,000 to S$5 million to tackle the huge monetary incentive for retailers to continue trading ivory on the black market. For example, the current maximum penalty of S$500,000 is pocket change compared to the S$66 million the recent large-scale seizure was valued at.
Wildlife populations will only recover if all of us take action. While governments need to set stronger laws, regulations, enforcement and work together, businesses need to stop the shipments and sales of wildlife products.
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