A new report by the World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore (WWF Singapore) has uncovered one of the main threats animals in Southeast Asia are facing.

Snares.

Snares one of the main threats to wildlife

In a report titled "Silence of the Snares: Southeast Asia's Snaring Crisis", it was revealed that rangers uncovered 12.5 million snares in 11 protected forests across Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia between 2005 and 2019.

Snares are rudimentary traps often made by hunters with wire or cable, and one of the simplest type of traps to make.

However, snares are indiscriminate, and can trap any animal from endangered mammals, to birds and reptiles.

Tigers, elephants, pangolins and civets have been caught in the traps, and as a result have their populations drastically impacted.

WWF Singapore stated that snaring is the "principal threat" to tigers in the region, and is a major contributor to their presumed extinction in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Animals caught in snares are subsequently sold off by hunters and poachers for their meat. The snaring crisis is thus largely driven by the demand for bushmeat, which is seen as a delicacy in these countries.

Transmission of diseases

Not only does snaring pose a threat to wildlife, it could lead to the spread of zoonotic diseases (diseases spread from animal hosts) as well.

Zoonotic diseases become more probable when there is close contact between animal hosts and humans.

While habitat destruction has led to the increasing proximity of wildlife and urban environments, hunting and snaring are ways that diseases can easily be transmitted.

Diseases can be spread when hunters, poachers or wildlife handlers come into contact with the animal's blood, when retrieving the animal or its carcass from the snare, butchering it for meat, or consuming it.

Two Southeast Asian species, the common palm civet and pangolin, have been identified as potential intermediary hosts for zoonotic diseases.

Incidentally, the coronavirus which resulted in the global Covid-19 pandemic now is believed to have originated from animals—bats in particular, while experts have speculated pangolins to be the intermediate hosts.

Urged policymakers to take steps

In the report, WWF Singapore urged policymakers to shut down high-risk wildlife markets and curb habitat loss and fragmentation to reduce the possibility of zoonotic disease transmission and snaring activities.

WWF Singapore also called on governments in Southeast Asia to crack down on the purchase, sale, transport and consumption of wildlife in markets and restaurants, and ensure penalties for such offences are stringent enough to deter such activity.

Governments should also invest more in the management of protected areas.

In Singapore, poaching is illegal, and offenders are subject to heavy fines of up to S$20,000, jail for 12 months, or both, with the penalties being even steeper if the animal poached is a protected species.

As a trading hub, Singapore also takes a strict stance on the illegal import and export of wildlife. Under the Endangered Species Act, anyone who does so will be liable to a fine of up to S$500,000, jail for up to two years, or both.

Top photo via WWF Malaysia by Lau Ching Fong and Bui Huu Vinh