Malaysia had garnered a reputation as a source country and transit hub for wildlife trafficking before the pandemic, and was listed among the top 10 countries in which such crimes were rampant.

Although the sale of wildlife online had been observed as early as 2014, traders and poachers had been forced to adapt their operations as a result of lockdowns and restrictions on domestic and international travel.

According to statistics from the wildlife and national parks department (Perhilitan), 443 cases involving the illicit trade of wildlife on online platforms have been dealt with by the department since 2020.

Perhilitan director-general Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim said Facebook was the most popular marketplace for the online sale of wildlife, making up more than half of the cases handled by the department last year.

The other platforms and applications used for such sales are Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, Shopee, Mudah, and Carousell.

Kadir said that in the last six months, Perhilitan observed that TikTok was becoming an increasingly popular platform for the illicit trade of wildlife.

He said sellers usually advertise the wildlife for trade, and interested buyers could simply contact them through phone, email or by direct messaging to make a deal.

The wildlife are usually sent to the buyers by post, public transport, through a middle person, as well as by cash on delivery (COD).

He said wildlife sold illegally online include baby long-tailed macaques, dusky langurs, otters, sun bears and white-rumped shamas.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list, the long-tailed macaque and dusky langur are endangered while the sun bear is categorised as vulnerable.

Not only is there a demand for live animals as exotic pets, but also wildlife parts and products, such as ivory and pangolin scales, for medicinal purposes or as luxurious trinkets.

Transactions are often completed without the seller and buyer ever meeting, with middlemen used to deliver the wildlife or product.

Kadir said the elusive nature of traders across the different social media platforms continued to be a challenge for the department in monitoring the sale of wildlife online.

“The traders would suddenly remove their accounts from the platforms but reappear after two to three months,” he told FMT. “Then they would change their account names again and again to evade the authorities.”

He said this meant that the authorities would always have to be “two steps ahead” of the traders and constantly ensure they kept abreast of the methods employed.

Under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, those found hunting, smuggling or in possession of wildlife may be charged.

Those found importing, exporting, or re-exporting fully protected wildlife without a special permit or smuggling protected wildlife face a fine of up to RM1 million and a jail term of up to 15 years after amendments to the Act came into force on Feb 1.

The Act has also been amended to include the promotion of protected wildlife for sale as an offence.

In August 2022, Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani announced that a new bureau had been set up to tackle wildlife crimes such as poaching and trading of protected animals in the country.

He was quoted in a report as saying the Wildlife Crime Bureau (WCB), operating under the internal security and public order department, had been approved by the government in July.

The bureau is based in Bukit Aman but will also cover Sabah and Sarawak.