Government Officers Allocated to Deal with Wildlife Trade

15 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for National Development (a) in each of the past five years, what is the number of officers under the National Parks Board Wildlife Trade branch; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider increasing the manpower allocated to the Wildlife Trade branch.

Mr Desmond Lee: Various groups of the National Parks Board (NParks) officers are involved in carrying out wildlife trade regulation and enforcement. This includes officers from the Wildlife Trade Branch. For example, the Centre for Wildlife Forensics is involved in the identification and verification of wildlife specimens seized by NParks’ wildlife trade inspectors. This provides evidence for NParks’ Prosecution Branch to use in court when charging wildlife trade offenders.

NParks also works closely with other agencies, international partners, and the community to tackle illegal wildlife trade. For example, NParks works closely with Singapore Customs and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to assess tip-offs and take a risk-based approach to screen and identify cargo for further inspection. NParks also works with its counterparts in other countries and international organisations like INTERPOL, to exchange information and expertise to strengthen enforcement efforts. Importantly. NParks works with industry stakeholders on public education efforts to raise awareness on illegal wildlife trade.

This Whole-of-Government and multi-pronged approach enables NParks to carry out wildlife trade regulation and enforcement effectively. NParks will continually review its regulatory and enforcement frameworks to ensure that it has sufficient manpower, and to leverage science and technology, international cooperation and partnerships to support its work.