Oral Answer by Ministry of National Development on combating wildlife trafficking

Feb 28, 2018

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what measures are in place at our border checkpoints to deter wildlife trafficking; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider establishing a wildlife sniffer dog programme to detect cases of wildlife trafficking at our border checkpoints.

Answer:

The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) works closely with Singapore Customs, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, and local and international partners to combat wildlife trafficking.  

First, we subject all passengers, cargo and shipments to risk assessment.  Our risk assessment framework helps agencies flag out which passengers and shipments require more detailed checks.  Agencies ensure that these risk profiles and indicators are up-to-date by continually reviewing wildlife trafficking trends and exchanging information with international partners like INTERPOL and the World Customs Organisation.

Second, agencies carry out multiple layers of checks at Singapore’s border checkpoints.  For example, radiographic scanners and x-rays are used to screen passengers and cargo.  The officers performing these tasks are trained to pick out suspicious items and behaviours. 

Third, agencies adopt a coordinated enforcement approach.  This enables them to take quick action after receiving credible and actionable intelligence or tip-offs from the public and from our international partners.  

Taken together, these measures have led to several successful seizures of illegal wildlife in Singapore.  Traffickers face heavy penalties like fines of up to $500,000, or imprisonment of up to 2 years, or both.  

AVA is continually studying the efficacy of different tools and techniques to detect illegal wildlife at our border checkpoints.  To the Member’s specific question about sniffer dogs, we understand that they are used in some countries to detect wildlife products.  In Singapore, we use other effective scanning technologies for this purpose.  More studies are needed to determine if sniffer dogs can be more effective than our current methods.