A five-year long sting investigation, dubbed "Operation Chameleon," has resulted in the capture of one of the world's most notorious animal smugglers, Keng Liang "Anson" Wong. Wong is thought to be responsible for smuggling more than 300 animals from Asia into the United States.

It took the cooperation of multiple international law enforcement agencies and the creation of a phony import/export company to finally bring down the smuggling kingpin. To break the infamous ring, United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) agents in San Francisco created PacRim Enterprises. Functioning as a front for Operation Chameleon, PacRim purportedly dealt in imported animals, but in actuality was staffed by undercover agents.

According to the indictment against Wong, USFWS agents cultivated business contacts with Wong in order to track the illegal movements of endangered animals into the Us. Consequently, the reverse flow of money was traced back into Wong's pocket. "He's been one of the most flagrant smugglers out there," said Lois J. Schiffer, the assistant attorney general for environment and natural resources. "We're sending a message today: We will do whatever it takes to shut down the black market in endangered species."

Wong was apprehended during a trip to Mexico City where he was supposed to meet with a federal agent posing as a crooked businessman.

Among the 39 species of endangered animals trafficked by Wong's gang were Chinese crocodile lizards, Bengal monitor lizards, plowshare and radiated tortoises native to Madagascar and Komodo dragons from Indonesia. The animals were frequently transported in carry-on luggage, Federal Express packages, or hidden among shipments of legally imported animals. Many of the animals died during their transport to the US; survivors will be kept as evidence for the case. Officials said that most of the animals will not be able to be returned to the wild and will probably wind up in zoos after the legal proceedings end.

Operation Chameleon was an international effort conducted with the cooperation of the US Customs Agency, the USFWS, the Mexican attorney general's office, Interpol and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Considered to be one of the most brazen animal smugglers, Wong operated from his zoo-like Malaysian home compound stocked with exotic cats, birds and reptiles. He has been on the ran from US agents since fleeing the country after being indicted for operating a similar smuggling ring in Florida.

Among the animals seized in Operation Chameleon was this baby Kornodo dragon from Indonesia and these Madagascar Radiated tortoises.

Chinese authorities have recently stepped up their efforts to stop the smuggling of endangered animal products into China. Smuggling in China is a multi-billion dollar business dominated by China's powerful military.

In November their crackdown paid off. Customs officials seized 1.6 tons of illegal African ivory hidden among legally imported African wild ox horns.

Although China is a signatory country to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), it remains one of the leading consumers of products made from endangered species.

In October, the Legislative Yuan voted to help animals by enacting Taiwan's first animal protective legislation. Major points covered in the new law are the prohibition of using animals for gaming purposes, provisions for humane slaughter, the establishment of an Ethics Committee to oversee the use of laboratory animals, mandatory registration of pets, and regulations governing pet shops and breeders. Violators of the law are subject to hefty fines.

ZHABA DUOJIE – PROTECTOR, MARTYR The Tibetan antelope's most fervent protector was gunned down on November 8th near his home in the western province of Qinghai, China. Poachers are believed to be responsible for Zhaba Duojie's murder. Doujie, an ethnic Tibetan, managed the Gyaisang Soinamdaje wildlife protection center; home to some of the world's most endangered mammals, including the Tibetan antelope and snow leopard. Located in one of China's most remote areas, the center was named for Doujie's predecessor who, four years ago, was also murdered by poachers. The Tibetan antelope is prized for the fur around its throat, known as a shahtoosh. Although it has been illegal to trade shahtoosh in much of the world since 1976, a shahtoosh shawl will fetch more than $15,000 in Europe. Only 75,000 to 100,000 Tibetan antelope still exist, and as many as 20,000 a year are killed by poachers.

A three year investigation between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has resulted in the arrests of 25 individuals from Virginia, West Virginia and New Mexico for over 100 wildlife violations regarding trade in bear parts and products, including jewelry made from claws, paws for expensive Soups, and gallbladders for use in traditional medicine. The Department expects this case "to yield one of the largest prosecutions in the nation's history for crimes relating to bear poaching and illegal trade in bear parts."

Despite the successful sting reported on page 12, many Special Agents within the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) report that criminal investigations are often interfered with by agency managers and that agency decision making is influenced by politics. This is according to a national survey released by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

USFWS Special Agents enforce the Endangered Species Act, the Facey Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and all other federal hunting and wildlife interstate transportation laws. Of the roughly 200 USFWS Special Agents nationwide, more than 60 percent responded to the PEER survey.

Over half the respondents related first hand experiences of managers who interfered with an investigation in order to protect a prominent individual or powerful group. Eighty-one percent said agency managers have often "injected political considerations into what should be strictly law enforcement decisions" and that hunting groups exercise disproportionate influence over agency decision making. Only five percent of agents think that USFWS law enforcement is improving while 74 percent think it is getting worse. The state of affairs at USFWS was summed up by one survey respondent who commented, "This division has gone from agents who believe in protecting the resources to agents protecting themselves."

The US Fish and Wildlife Service is administered under the auspices of the United States Department of the Interior.

Grizzly bears in British Columbia are being pushed towards extinction because of trophy hunting and massive habitat loss due to logging the forest. "Unless steps are taken now to conserve grizzly bear populations in British Columbia (BC), this animal could disappear from our landscape forever." These are the words of the British Columbia Government in the introduction to its "Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy." It was published in June 1995, and yet, over three years later, the most important measures contained within the strategy are still a very long way from being implemented and grizzly bears face a critically uncertain future.

As far back as the 1970s, conservation biologists were warning that the BC grizzly bear population was being over-hunted. In 1979, the BC Government promised to reduce the hunting quota to 200 grizzlies a year, but the promise was never delivered. Then, in 1990, came two shocking reports, one by the BC Government's own Wildlife Branch, the other by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, a Federal Government agency. Both found that the annual allowable hunt had been exceeded in large parts of the province during the 80s.

The BC Government promised to reduce grizzly bear mortality from all sources to four percent of the provincial population. However, to do this the BC Government did not reduce the actual number of kills, but brought in a new methodology for estimating grizzly bear populations. It led to a near doubling of the official population estimates for the province overnight, from 6-8,000 to 10-13,000 bears.

The new methodology, which is still in use today, is based on an assessment of how many bears an area could potentially support, not how many bears actually live in an area. The estimates that are produced from this exercise are not backed up by any meaningful field checks of actual populations. It is merely left to local government biologists to make what even the Ministry has admitted are 'best-guesses' about what is actually happening to grizzly bear populations, and to adjust the estimates accordingly.

Despite the promises made in 1979 and 1990, the 1996 hunt was one of the largest in twenty years with 363 grizzlies legally killed. Long-term studies of radio-collared bears suggest that unreported kills may equal reported kills. As logging, mining, roads and railways open up access to bear habitat, so these 'unplanned kills' are likely to increase. And yet, the BC Government continues to do nothing, despite its acknowledgment of the threats faced by grizzlies.

Environment and conservation groups are certain that nothing short of a complete moratorium on the hunting of grizzlies will be enough. Only a moratorium will provide time for a comprehensive survey of bear populations and for habitat protection measures to be implemented. The BC Government must accept its responsibility for the conservation of these magnificent animals and act immediately.

A Canadian grizzly bear enjoys a breeze as warm sunshine beam down upon his face.

Craig Bennett co-authored FIA's report, Trigger Happy.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE A COPY OF THE EIA REPORT, TRIGGER HAPPY, DOCUMENTING THE STATUS OF THE GRIZZLY IN BRITISH COLUMIA, PLEASE CONTACT; EIA, 69-85 OLD STREET, LONDON, EC1V9HX, ENGLAND, EIAUK@GN.APC.ORG