From Seizure to Sentence: An assessment of tiger trafficking prosecutions in Southeast Asia

Wild tiger populations across Southeast Asia remain threatened by illegal trade, driven by persistent demand for skins, bones, live animals, and other derivatives. Despite decades of international and national legal protections, trafficking networks continue to exploit uneven enforcement, inconsistent judicial responses, and systemic gaps across the region. This report provides a comprehensive regional assessment of tiger-related arrests, prosecutions, and judicial outcomes across the seven tiger range countries in Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, covering the period 2019–2024, with an additional in-depth analysis of court documents for Indonesia spanning January 2015–June 2025.

Although all seven countries designate tigers as protected species, the criminal justice responses vary. A major barrier is the limited transparency of judicial records. Except in Indonesia, prosecution data are not publicly accessible, preventing cross-agency accountability, comparative analysis, and targeted capacity development recommendations. The absence of transparent records also obscures case attrition, making it difficult to understand why cases fail and where interventions are required. In several countries, the use of suspended sentences, low fines, and inconsistent judicial outcomes risks reinforcing the perception that tiger offences carry minimal consequences, undermining the criminal justice response and public trust.

Indonesia stands out for its comprehensive, publicly accessible sentencing records. These documents highlight several factors associated with strong prosecution outcomes: effective interagency coordination, the routine use of forensic evidence, information from community members, undercover operations, and clear evidentiary chains. The majority of prosecuted individuals were lower or mid-level actors (e.g., hunters, transporters, or small-scale traders) whose involvement was often linked to economic vulnerability, opportunism, human–wildlife conflict, or social networks. However, high-level organisers and financiers remain largely absent from court proceedings, likely reflecting both the difficulty of investigating complex criminal structures and the tendency for frontline offenders to bear the highest likelihood of prosecution.

Documented cases rely almost exclusively on wildlife legislation, with no use of anti-money laundering, corruption, financial crime, or organised crime statutes. Drawing on these statutes could provide legal pathways to target higher-level actors and dismantle trafficking networks. Expanding the use of civil and administrative penalties, restorative justice mechanisms, and Species Victim Impact Statements (SVISs) may also strengthen accountability and repair harm. In parallel, enhancing community-based guardianship (e.g., by supporting public reporting of crime) through outreach, education, and coordination could help improve the identification of illegal activity, case quality, and judicial outcomes.

Overall, the findings underscore the importance of effective enforcement from investigations, through seizures and arrests, to prosecutions and sentencing. Countries also require coordinated national and regional approaches grounded in transparency, diversified legal strategies, strong interagency cooperation, community partnerships, and effective guardianship systems. By strengthening these elements, governments can reduce the drivers of tiger trafficking, increase risks for offenders at all levels of the supply chain, and build criminal justice systems capable of delivering credible protection for tigers, as well as benefiting other species.