TRAFFIC International

Hong Kong was once a prominent trading centre for ivory in the 1970s and 1980s, but the industry contracted considerably following the implementation of CITES trade restrictions in 1990, and waning demand from traditional overseas consumers. However, resurgence in international ivory trade activity in the past decade, both legal and illegal, have also reinvigorated Hong Kong’s local ivory market. This has led many conservation advocates to campaign for a ban on ivory trade in Hong Kong.

Malaysia is the world’s paramount illicit ivory transit country. To better understand this trade dynamic, TRAFFIC assessed information from ivory seizures -- made either by Malaysian authorities, or outside the country but with Malaysia identified as part of the trade chain -- from a period of over 11 years (from January 2003 to May 2014).

Singapore has a long history of involvement in the bird trade. To understand further the bird trade industry in Singapore, TRAFFIC undertook a rapid assessment of the open bird trade in Singapore’s pet shops. Surveys of 39 pet shops, listed by AVA as licensed to sell birds, were conducted over four days in November and December 2015. A full inventory of the species and volumes in trade was documented, excluding domesticated species.

Snow leopard poaching and trafficking – referred to herein as snow leopard crime – is revisited 13 years after TRAFFIC’s first report on the subject, Fading Footprints: The Killing and Trade of Snow Leopards. This report builds on a preliminary analysis published in May 2016 (Maheshwari and von Meibom, 2016).

This report illustrates the large scale of the bird trade documented through a complete inventory of five major markets in eastern and central Java (Bratang, Kupang, Turi (Surabaya); Malang and Yogyakarta) and follows on from a similar inventory carried out in Jakarta in 2014, which documented a total of 19,036 birds.

This report investigates the species, numbers and sources of apes held in zoos and wildlife attractions in Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand and responds to concerns over the global high demand for apes, especially juveniles, for display in zoos and wildlife facilities, and the illegal removal of these apes from the wild.

The aim of this study was to gain insights into the import-export relationships between Indonesia and the Netherlands by studying the trade in live animals from 2003 to 2013. The true dynamics of the trade between both countries are relatively poorly understood. This report allows a better understanding of the role of the Netherlands as an importing country, and Indonesia as an exporter of live animal species by providing an overview of trade dynamics.