By Serene C.L. Chng, Salman Saaban, Anongrakh Wechit, Kanitha Krishnasamy

Although the Oriental Magpie-robin Copsychus saularis is still a commonly seen species in many parts of Malaysia, high demand for it as a cage bird domestically and in neighbouring countries has resulted in trapping and smuggling of Malaysian populations. Analysis of seizure data for this species, as it implicated Malaysia, shows an escalation of international trafficking in recent years to feed the persistent demand for the pet trade. Overall, at least 26,950 Oriental Magpie-robins were seized from 44 incidents that implicated Malaysia from January 2015–December 2020, averaging at least 613 birds per seizure. These seizures took place in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Of these, Malaysian and Indonesian authorities definitively reported that 17,314 (64%) birds were being smuggled from Malaysia to Indonesia. This points to Malaysian populations of the Oriental Magpie-robin being increasingly targeted to feed demand in neighbouring countries, particularly Indonesia. At least 17,736 (66%) of all birds were confiscated in just 2020, signifying a current and possibly growing problem. This could be due to an increase in enforcement effort, coupled with dwindling populations in parts of Indonesia to supply birds for trade. A total of 23 seizures occurred in Malaysia, all were confined to the states of Johor, Melaka, Sarawak and Sabah involving a total of 17,997 birds. Most incidents in the first three states pointed to cross-border smuggling (the case in Sabah was a confiscation on premises). In eight of the Malaysian seizures, where birds were being trafficked to Indonesia, at least 16 Indonesian nationals were arrested, strongly suggesting networks of smugglers moving birds between the two countries. Many of these were reported to be illegal immigrants, indicating an additional national security concern.

TRAFFIC, Southeast Asia Regional Office, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia: 2021. 20p.

By Masayuki Sakamoto

Africaʼ s elephants continue to be poached for their ivory tusks. To combat the poaching crisis, and to support the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)ʼ s 1990 ban on international commercial ivory trade, nations and jurisdictions around the world have taken steps to close their domestic markets for ivory. By closing the market for ivory, governments send a strong signal that the trade in ivory and killing of elephants is unacceptable, streamline enforcement efforts by eliminating legal cover for illegal ivory, and support ivory demand reduction efforts. Nevertheless, one major consumer market remains open ‒ Japan. With an ivory stockpile of 244 tonnes, Japanʼ s domestic market is the worldʼ s largest and most significant legalized ivory market. Evidence indicates its ivory trade controls are porous, enabling the trade in illegal ivory and illegal ivory exports. At least 76 seizures of ivory from Japan were made between 2018 and 2020, mostly in China by Chinese authorities. To further examine illegal ivory export from Japan to China, the Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund (JTEF) turned to court cases in China, which could include more details than seizure data. JTEF identified court cases on illegal export of ivory from Japan into China, and analyzed them in order to contribute to evidence-based decision-making, constructive dialogue, and decisive outcomes from the Parties at the 19th Conference of the Parties (CoP19) to CITES,. In all, 49 public court decisions on 45 different cases between 2010 and 2019, published by the Government of China, were…..

• More.....

  identified and analyzed. Fifteen out of 45 cases occurred in 2018 and 2019, after Chinaʼ s domestic ivory market closure went into effect. In addition to summarizing basic information about each case, any information pertaining to the role of Japanʼ s legal market in illegal ivory export and information regarding the defining characteristics of transnational organized crime was assessed.  

Tokyo: Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund (JTEF) 2022. 88p.

By Jenny Feltham and Hendelene Prinsloo.

Bringing down the Dragon: An analysis of China’s largest ivory smuggling case, provides an in-depth case study of the inner workings of a wildlife crime syndicate and how Chinese authorities took it down by targeting the key facilitators and following the money. It also highlights how complex trafficking is and offers useful insights for law enforcement. The Chen organised crime group was a successful organised crime network, the kingpins, the untouchables. For several years they trafficked huge quantities of ivory by flying under the radar and eluding authorities through their corrupt connections. That all changed in late 2018 when Chen Chenzong, son of the Big Boss Chen Jiancheng, was arrested whilst dining out at a restaurant in China. Chinese authorities caught onto the network and the key players. They targeted the corrupt facilitators, in this instance a corrupt Customs Officer. Then followed the money, eventually seizing the assets of the Chen organised crime group. By December 2020, 17 members of the group had been convicted for their roles in trafficking 20.22 tonnes of ivory – equivalent to approximately 2000 elephants – from Nigeria to China. This case is a blueprint for law enforcement agencies investigating transnational organised wildlife crime.

The Hague: Wildlife Justice Commission, 2022. 56p.