DENR Seizes 339 Illegally Traded Wildlife Since January

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said that from January to August, it seized 339 illegally traded animals and exotic species nationwide, including poisonous snakes and “rarer exotic species” such as bearcats or “binturong.” In a statement, the DENR said the seizures included 220 birds, 97 reptiles, 31 amphibians, and nine specimens of mammals, arachnids and insects. “Feathered species made up nearly two-thirds of the total confiscations, with parrot varieties—such as cockatoos, cockatiels, and macaws—dominating seizures in Visayas and Mindanao,” it said. “Meanwhile, the Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley regions accounted for the bulk of confiscations of lovebirds, which is common in many households,” it added. Among the confiscated reptiles, according to the DENR, were 79 lizards, primarily iguanas and geckos, and 17 snakes, among these venomous vipers and pythons. It noted that separate enforcement activities in Central Visayas resulted in the seizure of 15 iguanas, while a total of 60 dried geckos and 50 endangered radiated tortoises were found in various airport shipments. Also among the confiscated wildlife were “rarer exotic species,” the DENR said, adding that an illegal wildlife trader in Soccsksargen was apprehended for carrying two bear cats and four gibbons. Nine tarantulas across five different species were likewise seized by authorities in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) region. The DENR said that aside from wildlife, it also confiscated over 300 wild fauna and apprehended 55 illegal wildlife traders after conducting 71 enforcement operations from January to August. Last year, the agency confiscated various heads of animals and insects. These included 976 heads of snakes, lizards, sugar gliders, scorpions, millipedes, as well as those from a Visayan leopard cat (“maral”) and Philippine palm civet (“alamid”). During the same period, DENR personnel at Ninoy Aquino International Airport also seized nearly 7,000 orchids and 255 tropical plants. The DENR, meanwhile, urged the public to help protect the country’s wildlife by “reporting suspected illegal collection, possession, sale, or trafficking of wild animals, including transactions conducted through online platforms.” /cb