Deep in the bowels of Auckland International Airport is a laboratory that’s on the front line of New Zealand’s fight against the exploitation of endangered wildlife.
1News was given unprecedented access to the Department of Conservation (DOC) CITES team, that works to help manage the trade of endangered animals and plants.
"This looks like a hell of a lot," said DOC officer Avi Narula, looking at shelves stacked with multiple overflowing baskets of items seized by Customs and MPI.
Today, there appears to be lots of coral and shells, but also medicinal products, some taxidermy, crocodile jerky, and animal skulls.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, is an international treaty between 184 parties that protects 36,000 species of animals and plants.
It was formed in the mid 20th century and signed in Washington on March 3, 1973 after some countries began realising there needed to be a global approach to managing the wildlife trade – both the legal and illegal trade.
1News’ Logan Church was given unprecedented access to the Department of Conservation CITES team, that works to help manage the trade of endangered animals and plants. (Source: 1News)
That ranged from live animals and plants to a huge variety of wildlife products, including exotic leather goods, medicine, food, clothing and tourist souvenirs.
"Levels of exploitation of some animal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together with other factors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily depleting their populations and even bringing some species close to extinction," reads the CITES website.
"Many wildlife species in trade are not endangered, but the existence of an agreement to ensure the sustainability of the trade is important in order to safeguard these resources for the future."
To import a CITES-listed item into New Zealand, a permit is needed. For the most critically endangered wildlife, commercial trade is generally prohibited.
That permit is to prove the item has not been taken from the wild. If there is no permit, then DOC assumes it has been.
"It extends right from biodiversity loss right through to the impact on plants and animals themselves," explained DOC officer Clinton Turner.
"For example, with snakes or crocodiles, if they are not being looked after in the wild, we are probably going to lose them."
Each item is inspected by these officers, weighed, and recorded. If it is listed as a CITES item and does not have the correct permit, it is destroyed. A serious breach could also result in a fine.
As he worked though this week’s seizures, Narula explained it was sometimes tricky identifying if something contained an endangered animal or plant.
One of the items that caught his eye was a package that appeared to originate from China.
"It looks like some sort of medicinal plaster...and the MPI officer indicated these might have pangolin in it," he said.
"They are the most trafficked mammal on the planet – it's the scales and bodies that are used in unproven traditional medicine."
One of the most common items seized were shells and coral.
Between 2017 and 2020 3.1 tonnes of shells were confiscated and 2.4 tonnes of coral.
"It’s not unusual to have passengers come with a 5kg bag of coral or giant clam shells... on their way back from the Pacific Islands," said Narula.
"They are picked up the beach, we’ve also seen fresh coral taken from the beach."
While seizures at the airport dramatically dropped during Covid-19 travel bans, they say they are already back to pre-Covid-19 levels – and likely to surpass those soon.
Narula said even what may seem like a harmless souvenir to a tourist can be problematic for the environment it came from.
"Even the dead coral and clam shells that are washed up on the beach have an important part to play in the whole ecosystem... even picking them off the beach...it has an impact on that wild space."
Animal taxidermy was also quite common, he said, as he held up a small alligator head to inspect it.
“This is a real alligator head – taxidermy of course. It comes from...in this case it just says the USA, but it looks like it’s come from Florida. Someone has been over there on a holiday and decided to bring a souvenir home,” said Narula.
The fight to protect our wildlife is a never-ending battle.
Tomorrow on 1News at 6 Logan Church is at the Auckland International Mail centre, seeing why there has been increase in Kiwis being caught importing protected wildlife products.
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