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SATURDAY CRIME NIGHT �ACRES UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION INTO THE ONLINE, ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

SINGAPORE, 21 December 2015 – It is Christmas and Singaporeans are buying gifts online. But before you purchase an animal online, know that with the click of a mouse, you may be pulling the trigger on the animal and – at its worst – drive that species to extinction.

ACRES conducted a six-month long undercover operation from June to 15 December 2015. The aim was to investigate the use of online advertising platforms by wildlife traffickers to ply the illegal wildlife trade. Such advertisements are illegal. During this six-month period, we recorded a total of 156 illegal pet advertisements online..

To verify the authenticity of the advertisers, we engaged 17 sellers. 14 proved to be genuine sellers. Some offered endangered species for sale. The remaining 3 did not respond. Through our interaction with the sellers, we also ascertained that the animals were either home-bred locally, or often smuggled into Singapore via the Johor-Singapore causeways, and by air. Young animals were smuggled in as they were smaller and easier to conceal, and touted to be less dangerous than adult animals. Pursuant to tip-offs, we also staked out dealings originating from illegal pet advertisements. This culminated in joint stings with the AVA that saw the seizures of animals such as sugar gliders and an Asian Leopard Cat meant for the illegal wildlife trade.

With our findings, we approached Carousell and SPH Online Classifieds to establish methods to restrict the placement of illegal pet advertisements, in order to cut off a primary conduit of the illegal wildlife trade. Both parties issued statements. SPH immediately removed the illegal pet advertisements on their platform. We thank SPH for their prompt action, and would like to work with them and Carousell to strengthen content management of their online advertising platforms.

To curtail smuggling of live animals via the causeways and by air, we propose the use of wildlife sniffer dogs to detect inter alia live animals in vehicles arriving at the Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints, and at the baggage retrieval areas in Changi Airport terminals.

To strengthen enforcement, we encourage members of the public to inform ACRES of advertisements for the sale of illegal wildlife as pets, whether online, in shops or by individuals. They may contact ACRES through our wildlife crime hotline no. 9783 7782 or e-mail: acrescrime@gmail.com.

Help us continue to fight the battle to end animal cruelty. Every dollar donated will fund our vital investigative and legal work and help us continue to take big steps forward in the fight to tackle wildlife crime and end animal cruelty https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/acres-fights-animal-crime#/

#ACRES #EndAnimalCruelty #AnimalCrimeInvestigationUnit #ACIU#AnimalAbuse #PetTrade #Fundraising #OnlineTrade #PressRelease #DonateNow #IllegalWildlifeTrade



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Source: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/acres-fights-animal-crime..

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ACRES

ACRES (Animal Concerns Research & Education Society) is a pioneering Singapore-based charity and Institution of Public Character, founded by Singaporeans in 2001 with the aim of promoting animal welfare.

ACRES has six focus areas: Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Wildlife Crime Investigation, Zoo Animal Welfare, Humane Education, Community Outreach and Promoting Cruelty-Free Living.

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