May 28, 2025
SINGAPORE – Indian star tortoises, songbirds and an Asian arowana were among creatures seized in 42 cases of animal smuggling caught at Singapore’s borders in 2024, the highest number of smuggling attempts in recent years.
Thirty-five smuggling cases were thwarted in 2023 and 34 in 2022. And between January and April 2025, eight cases were detected at the borders.
More than 240 animals were also seized from over 30 premises in Singapore in the last two years, said the National Parks Board (NParks) and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in a statement on May 27.
These cases involved people who peddled exotic animals for sale through social media platforms such as Telegram.
These updates on the illegal trade were provided amid the Cites Global Youth Summit on May 27, held on Sentosa.
Convened under the auspices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), a multilateral treaty, the inaugural five-day summit drew more than 70 young people from around 50 countries. It serves to equip fledgling leaders with the skills and networks needed to tackle the illegal wildlife trade in their respective countries.
Due to its location, Singapore has been known to be a transit country for the illegal wildlife trade, including in animal parts such as pangolin scales and rhino horns.
This illicit trade here is also rife in the virtual world, particularly on social media, as the market for illegal wildlife and animal parts in Singapore has generally gone underground in the last decade.
In one of the larger cases of 2024, a man from India was jailed for attempting to smuggle 58 Indian star tortoises into Indonesia via Changi Airport. The animals were hidden in luggage with no ventilation. One tortoise was found dead and 22 others were assessed to be thin.
Under Cites, the Indian star tortoise is listed as a species that faces a high risk of extinction if its trade is not severely restricted, and its commercial trading is generally prohibited.
Other cases in 2024 included the smuggling of kittens, puppies and birds. Apart from the 42 cases, NParks said live corals were also smuggled.
In February 2024, a man was jailed for eight weeks for the illegal keeping of 69 exotic animals at a farm in Neo Tiew, including the African spurred tortoise and the Argentine black and white tegu, a large lizard.
Ms Xie Renhui, director of wildlife trade at NParks, said increased demand for exotic pets and the use of technologies to detect smuggling attempts are some of the key reasons contributing to the slight increase in smuggling cases in 2024.
“There are various reasons as to why the demand for exotic wildlife as pets is on the rise here. One reason could be novelty, because we have a small list of approved pets to be kept at home in Singapore. Other cases involved exotic wildlife or animals being (planned for) transit through Singapore,” she said.
Exotic animals peddled online in Singapore include sugar gliders (a species of possum), tarantulas, hedgehogs and leopard geckos.
Individuals also attempt to smuggle in approved pets like dogs and cats because they want to evade biosecurity checks and proper permits, Ms Xie said.
The authorities have been reaching out to local e-commerce platforms to alert them if the sale of exotic animals are spotted online.
“It’s a continuous effort to create awareness as well as educate the public on not fuelling illegal wildlife trade or buying commodities that are of unknown origin,” said Ms Xie.
Associate Professor Adrian Loo, deputy director of the NUS Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, said that online reels of exotic pets such as bearded dragons and hedgehogs may be driving the demand.
NParks and ICA said the efforts of ICA officers, who are trained to detect suspicious travellers and vehicles, coupled with the use of technology, have contributed to the detection of more animal smuggling cases at land checkpoints.
The officers use mobile X-ray scanning machines to identify hidden modified compartments in cargo lorries, cars and motorcycles. In May 2024, officers found seven puppies and one kitten concealed in a modified car boot compartment of a Malaysia-registered car.
Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan, who spoke at the summit on May 27, highlighted the locally created mobile app Fin Finder, which identifies the fins of sharks and rays, including Cites-listed species, within seconds.
Mr Tan said NParks’ Centre for Wildlife Forensics has been using DNA and molecular studies to trace the origins of pangolin scales and ivory figurines, for example.
“This supports enforcement work and prosecution, and provides insights on potential trade routes of trafficked wildlife products,” he added.
Beyond the existing efforts, Prof Loo said South-east Asian nations should create a database with the DNA of endangered and commonly trafficked animals – from the Sunda slow loris to leopard cats – to identify which forests they were poached from.
Such a tool can also help to identify illegal trade routes and allow the authorities to zero in on syndicates faster.
“While countries within South-east Asia are putting in efforts within their own borders, I think that illegal wildlife trade is a transnational issue that requires countries to network better than the transnational criminal networks,” he added.
The summit was organised by the Cites Global Youth Network, which was founded by Singaporean youth. Participants include scientists, rangers, lawyers, conservationists and advocates.
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam attended the summit’s opening ceremony.
Mr Keith Ng, a member of the youth network, worked with Mr Remmy Kopeka, who is from Zambia, to analyse information and emerging trends in illegal timber trafficking in the African nation.
Mr Kopeka, 30, is a data and operations coordinator at non-governmental organisation Wildlife Crime Prevention, Zambia.
Mr Ng, 24, a National University of Singapore geography undergraduate, said: “The smugglers and traffickers are super-organised. They are all driven by profit, so they will find any means to get their goods across.
“That’s why we must be similarly well-organised and be willing to collaborate from a young age. That way, we can be one step ahead of them. If not, we’re never going to win this.”
- Shabana Begum is a correspondent, with a focus on environment and science, at The Straits Times.