Singapore a key transit hub for wildlife smuggling

SINGAPORE: Midori the iguana sits on a platform contemplating his snack of fresh fruit. He is one of the lucky ones, rescued and nursed back to health in Singapore, a major hub for wildlife trafficking.

Three months ago the huge and notoriously touchy 1.5-metre (five-foot) adult male was brought into the non-profit Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) rescue centre in bad shape.

Director Anbarasi Boopal said Midori had mouth ulcers and excreted a razor blade on his first day at the sanctuary.

"He was under critical care for a while, now he is completely fine," Boopal told AFP as she beamed at the iguana, due to be repatriated to his natural habitat in the lush rainforests of Central and South America.

The lizard, whose name, given by his rescuers, means "green" in Japanese, was likely part of the steady stream of creatures brought into Singapore illegally when he was smaller and then abandoned after growing too big.

Other mistreated pets and trafficked animals are not so fortunate, destined for slaughter or a life of confinement away from their natural habitats.

Singapore's extensive trade links and efficient ports have lured opportunistic wildlife smugglers, who use the country as a transit point to ship exotic fauna to customers worldwide, animal welfare activists said.

Wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC lists Singapore as among the world's top 10 wildlife smuggling hubs.

"The animals are just shipped into Singapore, (which acts) like a transit point from other countries like Indonesia or Malaysia or other neighbouring countries or surrounding islands," Boopal said.

High-value birds and reptiles such as cockatoos, turtles and snakes frequently pass through the island nation's borders illegally en route to other countries to be sold as pets, food or for medicine.

There is also trade in even more exotic wildlife such as star tortoises, hornbills and the sugar glider, a small marsupial, Boopal said. Singapore, AFP