One of the positives that came out of the pandemic was that it helped cut down wildlife poaching cases in Malaysia to zero last year – thanks to tighter movement and border control.

According to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), the number of wildlife smuggling also dropped by 60 percent in 2021 – from 10 cases in 2020 to four last year. As for poaching cases, the department also recorded 10 in 2020.

However, its director of enforcement...