28 animal smuggling cases detected in 2025, a 33% drop

Under the Animals and Birds Act, offenders caught importing any animal or bird without a licence may be fined up to S$10,000 (US$8,000), jailed up to 12 months, or both.

The illegal trade of wildlife, including non-CITES species, is regulated under the amended Wildlife Act. 

Under the Act, a person must not offer for sale, sell or export any wildlife, whether alive or dead, or any part of a wildlife, unless the person has the Director General’s written approval to do so.

Those found to have violated the laws may be fined up to S$50,000, jailed up to two years, or both. 

Under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act, those found guilty of illegally importing CITES Appendix I specimens face fines of up to S$100,000 per specimen and imprisonment of up to six years.

Appendix I includes all species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade. It includes Asian Arowanas and Indian Star tortoises.

Those who import animals listed in CITES Appendix II and III may face fines of up to S$50,000 per specimen and imprisonment of up to four years.

The species listed in CITES Appendix II may be threatened with extinction if trade of these species is not strictly regulated. Those listed in Appendix III are protected in at least one country.