Officials at KLIA seize Pangolin Scales sent in the Mail

Officials at KLIA seize Pangolin Scales sent in the Mail

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…

Pangolin Traders are Nabbed in Sabah

Pangolin Traders are Nabbed in Sabah

A man and a woman at a parking lot in the town of Donggongon, in Sabah. That seems innocuous enough. Except the pair were there to sell a live pangolin, which is illegal. “They were trying to sell the pangolin to a ‘customer’ at the parking lot, where the transaction…

A giant Haul of Pangolin Scales from Africa has been Seized at KLIA

A giant Haul of Pangolin Scales from Africa has been Seized at KLIA

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…

Another Five Tigers are Dead

Another Five Tigers are Dead

Officials in Vietnam have just made a gruesome discovery: the carcasses of five dead tigers in a wildlife trafficker’s freezer. The internal organs of the Indochinese tigers had been removed, likely for use as ingredients in traditional medicine. And there you have it. Despite heroic efforts by conservationists and wildlife officials…

Peacocks lose out to Traditional Medicine

Peacocks lose out to Traditional Medicine

Peacocks are flamboyantly ostentatious birds with giant iridescent tails of blue, green, gold and red that they deftly employ in courtship displays. Unfortunately for the birds, their flashy tail feathers have also caught the eyes of people. Peacocks have long been hunted as trophies and kept as pets. Sadly, the birds are…

Taking a message of Conservation to schools of Traditional Medicine

Taking a message of Conservation to schools of Traditional Medicine

Traditional medicine, as we have pointed out at this site at length, can be a total menace to endangered species. Much of Malaysia’s and the region’s illegal wildlife trade is driven by a quest for the body parts of rare and “exotic” animals so they can be used for medicinal purposes. Tigers are…

Wildlife Bans must be strictly Enforced

Wildlife Bans must be strictly Enforced

In a move hailed by conservationists as a major milestone, CITES has imposed a total worldwide ban on the sale of pangolins. Does that mean pangolins, including Malaysia’s own Sunda pangolins, are saved? That depends. A ban will only work if it is enforced vigorously in countries like Malaysia. And…

Let’s Shame the Charlatans who Peddle Exotic Animal ‘Remedies’

Let’s Shame the Charlatans who Peddle Exotic Animal ‘Remedies’

Tigers and other critically endangered “exotic” animals are routinely poached for the silliest of reasons. That reason is that many people continue to believe that potions made from tiger bones or whiskers or other body parts possess magical curative properties. And they also continue to believe that talismans made from…

Stop Wildlife Trafficking, SAM Urges

Stop Wildlife Trafficking, SAM Urges

All Malaysians must work together to stop wildlife trafficking once and for all. If we don’t act decisively, many of the country’s most beloved and iconic species are doomed to die out. That is the message of one of Malaysia’s best-known environmentalist groups, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM). “If illegal wildlife…