THE noose is tightening on a key hub used to smuggle ivory from Africa to Asia. In three months, Malaysian authorities have seized over 1700 African elephant tusks – a first for the nation.
Chris Shepherd of wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC says that in 20 years of working in anti-animal trafficking he has never known Malaysia to seize any tusks, despite other authorities making seizures on ships to – or from – Malaysia. In the last two weeks alone, over 1000 tusks were seized on their way there.
Because of this apparently lax approach to control, Malaysia is thought to be a trafficking hub. “Smugglers look for the path of least resistance,” says Shepherd.
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Most of the ivory is headed to China to be used in luxury items.
The seizures come hard on the heels of the 61st meeting of the (CITES) in August, at which an action plan to crack down on global tusk smuggling.
