PETALING JAYA: Pos Malaysia recorded a 10-fold increase in the interception of parcels containing wildlife, says a non-governmental organisation.
Traffic, which works to ensure only legal and sustainable trade is conducted involving wild species, said the Pos Malaysia International Hub detected three parcels in 2019 but noted an increase to 32 as of July this year.
This was highlighted in a recent workshop aimed at sharing best practices with industry players in the postal and courier industry.
"More wildlife smuggled through the mail is being detected at Malaysia's main gateway for all international mail, thanks to a four-year joint project between Pos Malaysia Berhad and Traffic to curb such smuggling," the NGO said in a statement on Tuesday (Oct 31).
"All interdictions took place at the hub prior to the packages leaving (for their destinations and contained) animals such as tortoises, lizards, snakes, butterflies and tropical fish," it added.
Traffic said these animals were destined for locations such as the Philippines, Hong Kong, China and the United States.
"Having found snakes in one of our delivery vehicles, we know that wildlife trafficking via post poses a danger to our employees," Pos Malaysia operations manager for improvement and excellence Abdul Razak Abdul Rahman said in the statement.
"As such, it is important for all of us in the industry to collaborate if we want to put an end to this illegal trade," he added.
Traffic training and capacity-building officer Renee Yee, who led the project, said: "We are proud of Pos Malaysia's achievements and hope its actions and commitment to address this issue will encourage other companies in the industry to do the same."
The workshop was co-organised by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission's Postal, Courier and E-Commerce Services Division, the Association of Malaysia Express Carriers, Pos Malaysia Bhd and Traffic South-East Asia.
