Psst... want to buy a Bengal tiger? Though banned, the demand for exotic pets is still alive here. Dealer offers to deliver them to your doorstep Apr 22, 2002 CUDDLY Bengal tiger cub. Price $15,000-$20,000. Can be delivered to any home in Singapore. This is the sales pitch of a shop in a North Bridge Road shopping centre. And if you don't care for a big cat, the dealers claim they can get you a slow loris, a kangaroo, even a bear. Some of these animals are dangerous, some are endangered, and it is not legal to keep any of them in Singapore homes. But, never mind, this company claims it can get them for you. At a price of course. You can get a piranha for just $50. A kangaroo would set you back about $3,000. The shop was filled with vivariums (landscaped tanks for small reptiles and animals) and a few guppies were on show. There were no signs of exotic animals being sold there, except for a poster about frogs and tortoises. Three men were present in the shop. One of them said any animal under the sun could be bought or sold. They can also custom-build cages. Just name the animal you want. How about the highly protected koalas? "Yes, they are available for sale but we don't sell them. They feed on eucalyptus leaves, which are not easily found here," he said. More people are keeping exotic animals these days, he claimed. "It's not easy to get caught by the authorities. You keep it in your house, who will find out? Unless you take it for a walk, nobody will know." The New Paper could not verify whether anyone had ordered a tiger from the shop. But the man claimed to know of one that is actually kept as a pet in Singapore.

SECOND SHOP At another shop in the East Coast area, there were some cute white mice for sale. Only $2.50 each. But they were not meant to be pets. They will end up as food for pet snakes. Like the shop in the city, there were no exotic animals on display, only vivariums, and some fish. There were a few customers, discussing their exotic pets. One of them had a tame python on his arm. This shop specialises in setting up vivariums. The man minding it insisted they do not sell exotic animals but offered to link us up with people who are willing to trade. Civet cats, slow lorises, snakes, scorpions and poisonous Amazon tree frogs were available for sale. He said it would be easier to buy reptiles rather than mammals. A speckled kingsnake would cost $200, a civet cat $800 and a tarantula $50. These were being sold by his customers. He said: "You would be surprised at the kind of animals people keep nowadays - slow lorises, gibbons, civet cats. Mammals are harder to come by, as most owners become attached to them and won't sell them."

SOME FACTS * Under the Endangered Species Act, a person who trades or keeps endangered animals can be fined up to $5,000 ($10,000 for repeat offenders), or jailed up to a year, or both.

*The international trade in wildlife is estimated to be worth billions of dollars annually and involves more than 350 million animals and plants every year

(just in Singapore) *BIRDS AND SQUIRREL: many seized

GIBBONS AND COCKATOOS: many seized

MACAWS: In 1996, two Lear's Macaws seized.

SLOW LORISES: In 1999, eight slow lorises rescued.

GIBBONS, PYTHONS AND MONITOR LIZARD: Found in Yishun flat in 1999.

STAR TORTOISES: About 500 seized at a mini-mart in 1996.

GREEN TURTLE EGGS: In 1995, 16,000 eggs found.

So what do I propose to do about this? What's the whole reason behind this petition? Just to get things clear, here are my aims: The irony is that trade in endangered species cotinues to flourish in Singapore despite Singapore authorities having laws against it, and despite Singapore being a signatory of CITES. when a sufficient number of Singapore residents have signed my petition, i intend to send it to the authorities with the following recommendations:

1. increase awareness(through press, publicity, TV, school childrens programmes) of the fact that keeping wild animals as pets is a bad thing.

2. improve enforcement of the existing rules in Singapore against trade in endangered species, by greater police focus on this criminal activity.

3. set an example by highlighting the actual successful capture and punishment of traders who have been involved in this activity, so that it discourages others.

4. to set an example for other people to follow to be environmentally active and aware.