Hong Kong: Hong Kong's illegal wildlife trade is increasing in volume, underestimated in value, and contributing to the global extinction crisis, according to a recent study. China and Hong Kong have sought to crack down on the illegal trade, although the semiautonomous port and financial centre remains a major transit point for endangered species products and other contraband.
Located in Hong Kong's rural New Territories, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden operates the city's only non-governmental Wild Animal Rescue Centre.
It takes responsibility for the care of rare or endangered animals which have been intercepted by Hong Kong authorities, either at border points, or within the southern Chinese territory, after having been brought in illegally.
One kind of animal they are looking after now is the Black Spotted Turtle.
The reptiles, mainly black with small yellowish spots, are native to South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
These Black Spotted Turtles were transported to Hong Kong en route to affluent pet buyers in mainland China and elsewhere in East Asia.
There were once 600 of them here at the Centre. Some died from failing to cope with the relatively cooler climate of Hong Kong compared with the warm climate of their country of origin.
Others were sent to trusted institutions around the world.
But new homes could not be found for the remainder and 200 are cared for here, waiting for new homes.
Other residents here include three Mindanao Monitor Lizards which were found as strays in October 2017.
The monitor lizards originated from the Philippines and Wild Animal Rescue Centre staff think they were also likely intended to transit Hong Kong to mainland China to feed a demand in the exotic pet market.
Gary Ades, Head of Fauna Conservation Department at Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden says in the two decades he has worked here there has been a change in the variety of animals coming in:
"We were seeing a lot of animals from Southeast Asia, coming to the rescue centre. But now we see them from everywhere, from The Philippines, from Mexico, from the United States. The trade is clearly very global. And a lot of these animals are probably passing through Hong Kong. Some of them may be staying here. But actually, Hong Kong is like a doorway to Southern China and to other parts of Southeast Asia."
On 3 March 2019 Philippine authorities found more than 1,500 live exotic turtles stuffed inside luggage at Manila's airport, which had arrived from Hong Kong.
Various types of turtles were found inside four pieces of left-behind luggage of a Filipino passenger arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on a Philippine Airlines flight from Hong Kong, Customs officials said.
The 1,529 turtles were turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Wildlife Traffic Monitoring Unit.
According to a recent Hong Kong study by members of Hong Kong Wildlife Trade Working Group (HKWTWG), called "Trading in Extinction: The Dark Side of Hong Kong's Wildlife Trade", the city has become a hub for trafficking wildlife and wildlife products.
The 200-page report illustrates Hong Kong's central role in global wildlife trafficking and the extent and nature of the associated criminality over the past five years.
One of the report's co-authors is Lisa Genasci, CEO of ADM Capital Foundation, a Hong Kong-based organization focused on environmental issues.
Genasci says they have created a database of 379 out of 2011 seizures of wildlife products from the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department between 2013 and 2017:
"So, what we can show from the data was that it represented, there was 20 metric tons of ivory over 2013 and 2017, 43 metric tons of pangolin and 1,366 metric tons of wood product, illegal wood product. So, largely in the databases were pangolin, ivory, wood logs and then another category, which is other species. So, we wanted to make sure that this represented in the database that the Hong Kong government could then access and see that this was organised and serious crime."
The report states that over the last decade, the variety of endangered species trafficked into Hong Kong has increased by 57 per cent, whilst the value of that trade has increased by an estimate 1,600 per cent.
Hong Kong authorities have seized illegal hauls of ivory, pangolin scales and rhino horn since 2013 which 'potentially equates to the deaths of 3,000 elephants, 65,000 pangolins and 51 rhinoceroses' according to the study.
According to another report contributor, Amanda Whitfort, Associate Professor, Department of the Professional Legal Education at The University of Hong Kong, the city has not regarded wildlife crime as a serious crime.
If investigators and prosecutors could treat it as serious or organised crime then "that would mean that they would be able to freeze the assets of wildlife traffickers, that they would be able to forfeit those assets and they would be able to ensure that the persons behind the large syndicates that operate through Asia and onto other parts of the world are hurt in a way that would make an impact on their businesses," says Whitfort.
In mid-January 2019, the Hong Kong Customs intercepted a record 8.3 tons of pangolin scales and hundreds of elephant tusks worth more than US 8 million US Dollars combined.
It was the largest-ever seizure of pangolin scales in Hong Kong, representing the product of some 14,000 animals, and one of the largest of ivory in a decade.
In 14 February 2019, Hong Kong Customs seized about 40 kilograms of suspected rhino horns, a record high seizure of rhino horns detected from arriving air passengers.
Scientists have designated all species of pangolins as being at risk of extinction. In the last two decades, the number of pangolins worldwide has dropped by about 90 percent.
Ivory tusks are a cherished decorative craft material in Asia, resulting in the devastation of wild elephant populations in Africa.
Under Hong Kong law, the importation and sales of endangered species and their products can be punished by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 1.3 million US Dollars.
Last year, following the outlawing of ivory sales in mainland China, Hong Kong's legislature enacted a complete ban on the local ivory trade to take effect by 2021, while raising penalties for offenders.
The Associated Press approached the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department for an interview. They declined to comment on camera but responded in an email:
"Hong Kong Customs is committed to combating smuggling activities. Based on an effective risk-assessment strategy, Customs officers vigorously conduct checks on passengers, cargoes, postal packets and conveyances at various control points and sea boundary for combating smuggling of contrabands including the smuggling of endangered species. To further strengthen the enforcement action against the smuggling of endangered species, Hong Kong Customs has also been participating in the Task Force on Wildlife Crime through working closely with the AFCD (Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department), the Environment Bureau and the Hong Kong Police Force to develop enforcement strategies and co-ordinate cross-department joint operations against the illegal importation and exportation of endangered species at the airport, sea boundary and various land boundary control points. Hong Kong Customs will continue to strengthen its enforcement and step up co-operation as well as intelligence exchanges with the AFCD and other law enforcement agencies to fight against the smuggling attempts."
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(With inputs from APTN)
