Lalita Gomez

Monitor Conservation Research Society

Pangolins have become one of the most intensely poached and trafficked mammal species, exploited mainly for the food and traditional medicine trade. Intense and continued illegal exploitation for commercial trade has become the leading cause of pangolin declines in parts of Asia and Africa. Recent research has illustrated the growing threat this po...

Unsustainable commercial exploitation poses a serious threat to many of Vietnam's native bird species. Here we report on a survey of the country's online bird trade, conducted across four major online platforms. Between 9 March and 3 April 2020, a total of 434 posts were recorded, accounting for 834 individuals of at least 50 species, ten of which...

The captive breeding of wildlife for commercial purposes is a controversial issue. In South Africa, the farming of African lions (Panthera leo) for commercial trade emerged in the early 1990s, partly as a conservation measure to reduce the decline in wild lion numbers while meeting increasing wildlife trade demands. In May 2021, the South African D...

The Black Crested Macaque Macaca nigra (Desmarest) is a Critically Endangered species endemic to Indonesia. Populations are in decline due to habitat loss and hunting for the wild meat and exotic pet trade. International trade data involving this species is lacking, though anecdotal information suggests it is being smuggled to the Philippines. To v...

In Myanmar, the hunting and trade of wildlife are increasingly recognised as a major threat to the persistence of species. We here focus on the trade and conservation of wild sheep and goats (Caprinae; Antilopinae) as these species are indeed hunted and traded for a variety of reasons. Seizure reports from 2000 to 2020 and 20 visits to four wildlif...

Mainland serow are in decline in Southeast Asia with poaching for illegal trade being a major driver. In Indonesia, where this species is found only on the island of Sumatra, the illegal wildlife trade is widespread and impacts numerous species and it is therefore not surprising to find serow in trade. Using seizure and prosecution data from 2014 t...

Demand for Saiga Antelope Saiga tatarica horn products in Southeast Asia, due to their perceived medicinal value, has drastically impacted the conservation of this species. At the same time, poor understanding of the dynamics of this trade in parts of Southeast Asia continues to impede regulation and conservation efforts. Here we examine the trade...

Monitoring illegal wildlife trade and how the modus operandi of traders changes over time is of vital importance to mitigate the negative effects this trade can have on wild populations. We focused on the trade of birds of prey in Indonesia (2016–2021) in bird markets (12 markets, 194 visits), on Instagram (19 seller profiles) and on Facebook (11 o...

India is one of the few countries to have made extensive use of Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), compared to other Parties to the Convention. Here we examine India’s use of Appendix III and illustrate its benefits and limitations, using examples of species listed by India i...

Context Illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a leading concern for conservation and biosecurity agencies globally, and involves multiple source, transit, and destination countries smuggling species on a transnational scale. The contribution of non-range countries for driving demand in IWT is often overlooked. Aims We analysed the dynamics (source, type...

Indonesia is home to five species of porcupines, three of which are island endemics. While all five species are currently assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, impacts of harvest and trade have not been factored in. To gain a fuller understanding of the porcupine trade in Indonesia, this study examines seizure data o...

Throughout the range of bears in Asia, a combination of threats - loss of suitable habitat, increasing human conflict, illegal wildlife trade - are pushing bear populations towards extinction. But studies in Asia are showing that indiscriminate poaching and illegal trade are increasingly becoming the main driver of species extinctions. Here we exam...

Indonesia is home to the Javan Leopard ( Panthera pardus melas ) and the Sunda Clouded Leopard ( Neofelis diardi ), both of which are threatened by habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict issues and the illegal wildlife trade. Leopards and clouded leopards are threatened by the illegal wildlife trade across their range, however, very little is known...

Millions of reptiles are both legally and illegally traded annually. However, the number of species being exploited for the live animal trade far exceeds any other demand, such as for use in the exotic leather trade. The huge diversity and abundance of reptiles traded globally is concerning as commercial consumer demand can result in unsustainable...

There is a large demand for bear parts in the Czech Republic, and this drives legal and illegal trade in various bear species sourced from outside the country. From 2010 to 2018, the Czech Republic reported legal imports of 495 bear parts, mostly as trophies from Canada and Russia. Illegal trade in bear parts and derivatives for medicine as well as...

In Indonesia the songbird trade is causing serious declines in many native species. Much of this trade is unregulated or illegal but nevertheless occurs openly in physical wildlife markets and online. Here, we report on the trade in a once common songbird, the Sunda laughingthrush (Garrulax palliatus), using compiled market data from 365 bird marke...

The illegal wildlife trade is increasingly recognised as a major threat to biodiversity conservation, and one way of curbing it is to properly enforce existing legislation and where appropriate to prosecute to the full extent of the law. One of the taxa that suffers greatly from unregulated trade are the tortoises and freshwater turtles, with colle...

Old-world porcupines (Order: Rodentia Family: Hystricidae) face many threats, including an increasing demand for their different body parts such as meat, quills, hairs and bezoars. Bezoars are masses of undigested organic and inorganic material that are occasionally formed in an animal’s gastrointestinal tract. Bezoars of a variety of species, espe...

One of the many threatened species in Indonesian bird markets is the Orange-spotted Bulbul Pycnonotus bimaculatus, a relatively widespread upland species endemic to Sumatra, Java and Bali. BirdLife International designated the species as Near Threatened in 2016 due to ‘a slow to moderately rapid rate’ of population decline as a result of the trade....

Malaysia is a known source and consumer of bear bile products in Asia, and sun bears are persistently poached to meet the demand for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Surveys of TCM outlets in the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak were conducted in 2018 and 2019 as part of continuing efforts to monitor the availability of bear bile produ...

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...

Indonesia is home to one species of bear, sun bear Helarctos malayanus. Aside from forest loss and habitat degradation, wild populations are being hunted and killed for the illegal wildlife trade. Yet, very little data exists on the extent of this exploitation or its potential impact on bears. To gain a better understanding on this front, we assess...

One of the key threats to Sun Bears in Malaysia is the illegal wildlife trade. Malaysia is a key source and consumer of bear bile products in Asia and its wild bear populations continue to be poached to meet the demand for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Surveys were conducted in 2017 and 2018 of TCM outlets in Peninsular Malaysia to monitor an...

Indonesia is home to four species of otters i.e. Small-clawed Otter, Smooth-coated Otter, Hairy-nosed Otter and the Eurasian Otter. The latter three are protected by law in Indonesia. However, recent studies have shown that it is the Small-clawed Otter that is currently being coveted for the pet trade. Indonesia has been recently flagged as a hotsp...

The international trade in otters to supply a growing demand from the pet industry is an increasing threat to the conservation of Asia's wild otters. Current use of CITES II is proving inadequate and as such, listing Asian otter species in Appendix I is considered as a solution to allow CITES Parties to more effectively combat this illegal trade. I...

The illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia is a major threat to a long and growing list of species. Otters are no exception and recent research has shown the trade in otters as pets in Indonesia is on the rise. While it is illegal to capture and trade otters from the wild in Indonesia, until recently only two of the four native otter species received...

The illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia is a major threat to a long and growing list of species. Otters are no exception and recent research has shown the trade in otters as pets in Indonesia is on the rise. While it is illegal to capture and trade otters from the wild in Indonesia, until recently only two of the four native otter species received...

This analysis examines seizure data that implicates Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) as a place of origin, transit point or destination of illegally-sourced live bears, their parts and derivatives, from 2010 to 2016. Intensive surveys of trade in 25 towns and villages carried out in 2016 recorded bear parts and derivatives for sale in more th...

This study reviews the bear farming industry in Lao PDR with the objective of documenting the current number of commercial bear facilities (i.e. captive bear facilities judged to be trading in bear bile and/or bears and bear parts) and the number of bears contained within these facilities, noting changes since it was last examined between 2000 and...

In 2018, the Indonesian Government provided legal protection for the Sumatran Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor. This species, endemic to the island of Sumatra, is now restricted to a few submontane and montane forests on the north and south of the island. Heavily trapped for the Indonesian songbird trade, populations are in serious decline. Calls to...

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 study is an analysis of records of the seizure of otters by law enforcement agencies in selected Asian countries between 1980 and July 2015. The study was undertaken to understand the extent and scale of the illegal otter trade in Asia, and focussed on four Asian otter species i.e., the eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), hairy-nosed otter (Lutra su...

The illegal wildlife trade poses a direct threat to all four species as they are popular for their fur and increasingly for their supposed qualities as pets. This study is an analysis of otter seizure data during the period 1980 to July 2015 inclusive. This study was born out of a desire to understand the extent and scale of the trade involving all...

It has long been assumed that the peat underlying tropical peat swamp forests accumulates because the extreme conditions (water logged, nutrient poor, anaerobic and acidic—pH 2.9–3.5) impede microbial activity. Litterbag studies in a tropical Malaysian peat swamp (North Selangor peat swamp forest) showed that although the sclerophyllous, toxic leav...