The illegal wildlife trade in Malaysia has taken centre stage with recent seizures by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
This has brought to public attention the magnitude of the black market trade in Malaysia's protected wildlife that caters to the local and international exotic meat and traditional medicine markets.
According to the wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic, the illegal trade in wildlife meat in Malaysia is fairly widespread, with many restaurants in the country serving "exotic meat" dishes to selected clientele.
"The meat is surprisingly cheap, despite being from endangered species such as tiger, leopard, freshwater turtle and even sun bear paws," said Traffic Southeast Asia senior programme officer Chris R. Shepherd.
However, he is unable to confirm whether the illegal meat and animal parts trade in the country is on the rise.
Shepherd said it was difficult for the authorities to successfully eliminate the trade as it was carried out in secrecy.
"The exotic meats are stored in a place away from the restaurant. When an order is made, someone rides out to collect the meat. That makes it very hard for enforcement officers to make a bust. Even when they get a tip-ff and raid a restaurant, they will not find the meat."
But the trade does not thrive within Malaysia alone, for its rich and varied biodiversity serves the international racket in wildlife trade, thus "robbing Malaysians of their wildlife".
Shepherd said all agencies with the authority to take action, such as the Wildlife Department, Customs and the police, need to work together and collaborate with the relevant authorities in other countries, since wildlife is also smuggled out of Malaysia.
"East Asia is one of the main import centres for wildlife meat such as snakes, pangolins, monitor lizards and freshwater turtles," he said.
The Malaysian authorities should not shoulder the responsibilities alone, he said, as members of the public must also play a role.
"Report to the authorities if you come across any establishment serving illegal wildlife meat, or if you know of anyone purchasing it. Stop purchasing meat or products you know contain illegal animal parts. Even purchasing or consuming the meat of a protected animal is illegal and ignorance cannot be used as defence in a court of law," Shepherd said.
The global wildlife trade is big and its operations can even be compared with arms or drug smuggling. Even so, the penalty meted out to those caught, in most countries, is not as severe and fails to be a deterrent.
"The profit earned from the trade is large and that is why big crime syndicates want to control it. Those caught should be regarded as serious criminals," he added.
This article was taken from: The Malay Mail: News 5 December 2008
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