At times wildlife traffickers try to smuggle animal parts out of Malaysia in suitcases at airports. At other times they do so by sending such illicit merchandise abroad by mail. They are quite brazen, yes. Thankfully, alert customs officials can and do regularly step in and stop the shipments from…
Malaysian businesses can do a lot to help save the country’s world-famous environment. For starters, they can do this by refraining from polluting Malaysia’s air and water. Yet some environmentally conscious companies do not stop there. Malaysia Airlines Bh has, for one, vowed to take a firm stance against international…
Illicit wildlife products have been pouring into and out of Malaysia: elephant tusks, pangolin scales, deer antlers, tiger claws, sun bear teeth and claws. We know because in the past few weeks alone Malaysian authorities have managed to seize tons of such items at ports and airports from Sabah to…
It’s not that there were any more proof needed that much of Africa’s wildlife is being decimated at appalling rates, but it has been provided again nonetheless. That evidence came in the form of 23 elephant tusks and 300kg of pangolin scales. They belong to the latest shipments of illicit…
Last month, within a matter of days, alert customs officials at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport seized two giant hauls of pangolin scales, which had been flown in from Africa and weighed 712kg in total. This month they discovered yet another giant haul of scales at an air cargo warehouse at…
Malaysia is a major gateway for international wildlife traffickers into Southeast Asia. We’ve long known that, of course, but just in case here is a reminder: The country, which boasts one of the most biodiverse but also most threatened environments on the planet, is “the world’s paramount ivory transit country, with its ports serving…
Alert customs officials, acting on a tip-off at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport, made a sad discovery: a large haul of pangolin scales. Stuffed in 18 gunny sacks were the scales of an estimated 1,400 African pangolins. The haul, which weighed 712kg, would have been worth more than RM9 million ($2 million) on…