Stopped at the border

By TONY ENDERBY

Standing in the customs hall at the end of a holiday always brings on a state of semi-dormancy.

A few words from a customs officer, "Can you open all your bags please?" and the dormancy vanishes. The couple in front of us exchange a look of near-panic. "What's in our cases that we shouldn't have?"

Among the jumble of holiday-worn clothes are two parcels.

"We don't have any food here, just two clam shells we bought at the market," the woman says as she unwraps them. By now many of us have seen similar scenes on TV's Border Patrol - we know what's coming.

"Do you have a certificate of export?" the customs officer asks. "Clam shells are a controlled import under the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) agreement."

"No, why are they controlled? There were hundreds of them for sale."

The customs man's response is food for thought. "How many live clams did you see on the reefs?"

This isn't a good time to debate the health of the world's coral reefs. They just want to get through customs and go home.

But his comment makes us think - we didn't see many living clams on the reefs. Perhaps the reason is directly related to the number for sale in the shops.

"We will confiscate the shells and you have 90 days to get a retrospective certificate of import if you want to reclaim them," he continues.

They choose to abandon the shells, adding to the growing pile of confiscated goods seized at New Zealand's borders.

For many travellers a few shells or a piece of coral confiscated at the airport is their first direct contact with CITES. They don't relate their shells or corals with wildlife smugglers caught trying to take birds or reptiles in or out of the country.

But seizures of goods listed under the CITES agreement at New Zealand's borders are climbing dramatically. In 1991, there were 3625 seizures of goods at ports or airports. By last year, that had increased to more than 37,000 items.

This doesn't mean New Zealand travellers are becoming wildlife smugglers. Border biosecurity controls have improved, and more species and products have been added to the protected list.

More than 30,000 animal and plant species are covered by CITES. Any product made from a protected species is also covered.

The majority of seizures are corals and sea-shells, usually clams. These need a Certificate of Export from their country of origin to be allowed in. This includes corals and clam-shells picked up off the beach.

The international trade in wildlife is huge. It is estimated to be worth billions of dollars annually and involves 350 million plants and animals being traded legally. The illegal black market trade in wildlife may be even bigger. It is the third-largest illegal trade world-wide, after drugs and weapons.

The reason for the CITES controls is simple - many animals are nearing extinction because of over-exploitation. Even where protection is in place, poachingcontinues to decimate numbers.

Some non-threatened species on the list would soon become endangered if unrestricted trading was allowed. Often government-funded agencies lack the budget or skills to protect rare and valuable animals. Television wildlife documentaries bring the demise of leopards, cheetahs, gorillas and turtles into our homes.

But for trade to flourish, there must be a buyer. That's where the average traveller comes into the picture. Most of us have no idea what is protected.

Each exotic animal or shell we purchase at a market means one less in the wild. Most end up stored along with thousands of other confiscated souvenirs at border control facilities.

Instant fines have been put in place for any item illegally imported into New Zealand under improved biosecurity controls. Food and fruit are the biggest problems, as they could carry insects, eggs, larvae or diseases that could affect New Zealand's plants, animals and human population.

The agriculture and customs staff have a difficult job - and they are often abused by travellers who should know better.

The CITES team is based with the Department of Conservation in Auckland and headed by Lisa Hankey.

"CITES doesn't prohibit trade - it merely controls it," Lisa says. "Many items can be brought in with an Export Certificate, supplied at the time of purchase. We can hold confiscated items if people request us to, allowing them to try for a retrospective certificate from the country of origin."

A large stuffed bear, mounted on a stand, greets us inside the CITES office. The sad eyes of a white timber wolf skin, draped over the back of a chair, follow our entry. Several spotted or striped big-cat skins, stuffed snakes and crocodiles, turtle shells and corals line the walls.

"Each of the 160 countries that recognises CITES has an office," Lisa continues, "and they can be contacted for a list of controlled wildlife exports."

"Some registered vendors in market places and shops overseas can supply a Certificate of Export or put you in touch with the local CITES office that issues the certificates. If a vendor seems unaware of the CITES regulations or offers to write something, you risk losing your goods."

Tourists often don't think about their impact on the regions they visit. Coral reefs that were used for the commercial harvest of shells and corals are now barren.

Living coral reefs provide nurseries for small fish and a habitat for larger fish and protect the islands they surround from wave erosion.

The size of the problem becomes more obvious in the CITES storage facility. Bear skins, tiger and leopard skins, huge snake skins, boxes of turtle shells, clam shells and corals line the shelves. The largest clam is more than a metre long and would have taken hundreds of years to grow.

A few carved pieces of bone and wood sit at the end of a shelf. Bone carvings need to be scrutinised closely before purchase, as ivory and whale bone are prohibited.

Several bins full of packaged products complete the collection. Ginseng, along with caviar, is not a permitted import unless accompanied by the appropriate permit.

Yet the CITES people, although passionate about the wildlife, are keener on education than confiscation. Lisa sums it up.

"If people realise that each dead animal sold is one less live one to see in the wild, they probably wouldn't think of buying them."

The listed CITES species fall into three categories, Endangered, Threatened and Exploited.



If you have any doubts about wildlife souvenirs the easy answer is - don't buy.

www.cites.org