Kanitha Krishnasamy

TRAFFIC Southeast Asia

In this article we present a standardized dataset on 6659 songbirds (Passeriformes) highlighting information relevant to species conservation prioritization with a main focus to support the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Data were collected from both scientific and grey literature as well as...

Although the Oriental Magpie-robin Copsychus saularis is still a commonly seen species in many parts of Malaysia, high demand for it as a cage bird domestically and in neighbouring countries has resulted in unregulated trapping and smuggling of Malaysian populations. Analysis of seizure data for this species, as it implicated Malaysia, shows an esc...

Seizure data analysis from 2000–2017 documented 38 cases involving an estimated 667 to 740 Philippine Pangolins. Additionally, 10 tonnes of frozen Sunda Pangolins involving 2,870 animals were confiscated from a vessel in 2013. In the most recent period from 2018–2019, a total of 28 incidents comprising seizures and retrievals involving an estimat...

Southeast Asia, perhaps more than any other region, encapsulates the full range of global challenges facing the management of biodiversity and trade in wildlife. Political and socio-economic disparities are large. Rapid development of infrastructure—often backed by foreign investments—and land conversion continues to challenge the region’s biodiver...

Poachers in Malaysia are facing stiffer penalties for illegally hunting Serow, that is in demand for its reputed power to fight everything from an itch to witchcraft. An analysis of legal action in 18 seizure incidents involving the Sumatran Serow scrutinised penalties meted out by courts in Peninsular Malaysia from January 2013 to April 2019. It s...

Illegal trade in marine turtles persists in Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet Nam, with thousands of marine turtles and their parts found in seizures, in both physical and online markets in the three countries. At least 2,354 whole turtles, both live and dead, were seized in 163 law enforcement incidents in the three countries from 2015 to July 2019. Ov...

A six-month online survey in 2019 found a minimum of 236 online posts offering a minimum of 546 hornbill parts and products in 32 of the 40 groups surveyed on Facebook. These were posted over a period of 64 months, spanning June 2014 to April 2019. Helmeted Hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil) parts and products constituted 452 (83%) of all hornbill commodit...

TRAFFIC is a leading non-governmental organisation working globally on trade in wild animals and plants in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

Owing to its remarkable singing ability, the White-rumped Shama (Kittacincla malabarica) is a particularly popular species in the SouthEast Asian cage-bird trade. Despite domestic trade being regulated in six out of nine SouthEast Asian range states, demand continues to put a heavy strain on the region's White-rumped Shama populations. The lack of...

This paper is the first known complete inventory of birds sold in two of the largest bird markets in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. Two inventories were compiled one year apart, in 2017 and 2018. A total of 5,228 individuals of 129 species were recorded in 2017 and 7,258 individuals of 144 species in 2018, including eight threatened species, seven in b...

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) aims to ensure that the trade in wild fauna and flora does not threaten the survival of species. Increased protection and regulation, including a potential CITES listing, can unintentionally cause an increase in the value of some species amongst collectors,...

Researchers found 1,521 live animals for sale online on 12 Facebook groups in Thailand in under a month of monitoring for just half an hour a day in 2016. Follow-up research on the same 12 groups in July 2018 showed that only 10 remained, selling both protected and non-protected species, including one group that became a secret group. Total members...

This study reports on the illegal wildlife trade in the town of Boten, a Specific Economic Zone in the Luang Namtha Province of Lao PDR, located 1 km from the Chinese border. A one-day survey was conducted in April 2016, involving a combination of direct observations of open trade and informal discussions with traders. This was matched against a ra...

Indonesia, one of the last strongholds of the Sunda Pangolin, has lost up to 10,000 pangolins a year to illegal trade despite significant enforcement success. Analysis found an equivalent of 35,632 pangolins had been seized in 111 enforcement cases over the six-year period from 2010 to 2015. The volume of pangolins and parts seized annually varied...

This short note considers the seizures of African pangolin scales that have taken place in Malaysia over a four-month period in 2017 to contextualize the role of Malaysia in the smuggling of African pangolins.

In 2010 and 2013, TRAFFIC produced two systematic reports analysing Tiger seizures from range countries that described trafficking patterns (Verheij et al., 2010; Stoner and Pervushina, 2013). This 2016 report presents an updated situational analysis, assessing information over a 16-year period from January 2000 to December 2015 for all Tiger range...

TRAFFIC conducted an 18-month survey of open market availability of ivory in Bangkok from December 2014 through June 2014. This exercise was done to assess market trends during the period immediately before the Elephant Ivory Act came into effect and after the law came into force. Surveys were conducted across nine different retail market locations...

The Critically Endangered Helmeted Hornbill Rhinoplax vigil is neither found in Lao PDR, nor allowed in international trade. However, 74 of the hornbill’s casques and products made from the casques, were observed for sale in eight shops during an eight-day survey in three areas in the country. The survey found the largest collection of 36 items in...

An assessment of information from ivory seizures over a period of over 11 years (nearly 11 and a half years) was conducted. This involves seizures from January 2003 to May 2014—all seizures were either made by Malaysian authorities, or made outside the country, but with Malaysia identified as part of the trade chain. Findings highlight that a total...

The threat of undetected illegal online wildlife trade is real and very relevant and is further compounded by the internet’s ability to reach a wide audience within a short time frame. It is suspected that the use of online social networks to conduct wildlife trade is increasingly common. Although reports on the misuse of the internet for the trade...

The Critically Endangered Black-winged Myna Acridotheres melanopterus is being pushed towards the brink of extinction in Indonesia due to continued demand for it as a cage bird and the lack of enforcement of national laws set in place to protect it. The trade in this species is largely to supply domestic demand, although an unknown level of interna...

Cumulative impacts of forest fragmentation resulting from the construction of linear infrastructures and land-use practices not compatible with wildlife conservation pose the main long-term threats to tiger habitat in Malaysia. While habitat protection is essential for the long-term survival of the tiger, illegal trade is a more urgent threat, havi...