Trade of tiger parts in Singapore shops has fallen sharply: ACRES
Trade of tiger parts in shops in Singapore has fallen significantly, a two-month undercover investigation by the ACRES Animal Crime Investigation Unit has revealed.
The animal welfare group conducted the investigation on 153 jewellery and antique shops in Singapore, of which only four -- 2.6 per cent of the shops were offering alleged tiger teeth and claws for sale.
That is a significant improvement compared to a similar investigation in 2010, which saw 59 of 134, i.e. 44 per cent, of the shops selling the parts.
Jewellery and antique shops were targeted in the investigations as people believe that wearing the tiger parts brings good luck and wards off evil, said ACRES. It added that it may look into the sale of the parts for use in traditional Chinese medicine as well.
More than half of the shopkeepers approached by investigators said that the sale of tiger parts was illegal or required permits. Some also admitted that they stopped selling the parts after being fined by authorities.
However, ACRES said that the trade might have moved online as a brief survey found a total of 14 online advertisements for tiger parts, on websites such as Craigslist and Gumtree and mobile apps such as Carousell.
“The public plays an important role, we hope that people will stop buying tiger parts and also help be our extra eyes and ears on the ground,” said Louis Ng, chief executive of ACRES.
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