Presenter and former Royal Marine Commando Aldo Kane’s forthcoming series, Tigers: Hunting the Traffickers, is a secret investigation into the destruction of the apex predator in Southeast Asia, providing an insight into how the commodification of a farmed product is pushing an entire wildlife species towards extinction. By Team Viva

The illegal tiger trade is threatening the survival of one of nature’s most beautiful beasts. Exposing the shocking secrets of illegal tiger farms and the power players who profit, former Royal Marine Commando Aldo Kane uncovers key trafficking routes connecting Malaysia, China, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, covertly filming the traffickers, and meeting those trying to conserve tigers. He calls the series, Tigers: Hunting the Traffickers, a gripping, fearless and an action-packed investigation into the sickening network of ruthless, organised wildlife crime. It’s also a crusading film, with enough clout to ignite a campaign for real change, before a majestic species is wiped out completely. Excerpts:

What is the film about?

We look at how the growth in illegal tiger farms throughout Southeast Asia and China is stimulating a demand for tiger products like tiger bone, wine and glue. Tiger trafficking is now big business and this rise in demand is having a devastating effect on the world’s wild tiger population as a premium is now paid for its wild provenance. This film investigates the murky underworld of the illegal tiger farms feeding this demand. It is about the complex issues that surround the trade and tries to raise awareness of the immediate threat to these endangered animals. I, alongside a team of investigators, try to expose and piece together the shocking secrets of the illegal tiger farms and those who profit. Numbers of wild tigers in much of Southeast Asia are declining and wild tigers risk getting extinct if this illegal trade continues and is left unchecked.

What attracted you to this project?

Since I first joined the Royal Marines at the age of 16, I have spent many years travelling the globe and a huge amount of time in the jungles of Southeast Asia. I still remember the exhilarating feeling of sharing the dense forests with the wild tiger — for me, the most majestic Apex predator. Since then, I have been fascinated by these beautiful creatures and acutely aware of their plight as an endangered species.

A few years ago, I was talking with director Orlando Von Einsiedel from Grain Media about such risky stories which needed to be told. And this one topped the list. Telling a story of a species closer to extinction partly due to man’s desire to turn it into “luxury” products would require intricate storytelling, investigative journalism and a healthy dose of risk-taking. It felt like the perfect project to me.

You have spent the last few years working with anti-poaching patrols. What motivated you to expose tiger trafficking?

I have been working over the years with a charity that offers former service personnel the opportunity to play a critical role in conservation and the prevention of wildlife crime around the world. As highly military trained individuals, our work on the ground is very much focussed on training and mentoring anti-poaching units to deal with illegal poaching. The poachers, who are risking their lives for very little in return, are very often the ones with the least options. The real issue is the organised trafficking networks across Southeast Asia and the increasing demand for illegal products. Poaching happens because there is a demand for an illegal animal product.

It soon became very clear to me that all anti-poaching operations were being continually undermined by this growing demand, high-tech trafficking syndicates and endemic governmental corruption. Where there is a demand, there will always be someone willing to risk their life to supply. That is why I wanted to try and find out more about the networks, the organised crime and the government complicity in this illegal and lucrative trade.

What were the on-ground challenges?

Carrying out this investigation was fraught with challenges. The trade spans nearly all across Southeast Asia — from Malaysia right up through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and further into China. Due to the nature of the trade in these countries, trafficking can also be linked to other illegal activities such as drug smuggling, illegal logging and human trafficking. So the level of risk and danger is quite high. But the biggest challenge and risk was to the investigators we worked alongside because in some of these countries they could risk their lives for exposing these illegal trade operations. For me, the biggest challenge was feeling quite helpless at the industrial scale of the trade.

You have put yourself in some extremely risky situations to make this film. How has your former life as a Royal Marines Commando Sniper equipped you to deal with them?

My background turned out to be valuable throughout the filming. I was able to use many of the skills I was taught in the Marines like collecting useful information for the investigation. Often, it was just myself and my director Laura out on the ground, gathering information. We had to plan operations as if they were a military tasking, taking into account vehicle moves, communications, actions and worst-case scenario planning. Flexibility is the biggest asset to any live investigation. Sometimes, we would be out on the ground for 18 hours and then all of a sudden, we had to follow a different lead into a different country, the whole time being aware that what we were doing was incredibly risky and dangerous.

Any memorable or shocking moment...

One of the most memorable parts about the filming was spending time with the Counter Tiger Poaching units in the Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia. We spent weeks in the jungle tracking down tiger poachers. They have dedicated their lives to the protection of the few wild tigers left in Malaysia. It’s frustrating that their efforts are being completely undermined by the industrial scale poaching taking place in their own backyard. The wild tigers are being trafficked North into Vietnam and China where a premium is fetched as the dead or butchered ones are worth more than those alive and wild. It was truly great to spend time with these dedicated and loyal teams, learning how they operate and what their biggest challenges were. This gave me the background knowledge and drive to find out more about the illegal trade.

For me, the most shocking scenes revealed how large some tiger facilities were. I also visited some places where hundreds of tigers were locked up in cages. The tiger trade is hidden from sight, unlike the ivory or rhino trade where the brutality is on show for the world to see. The world is largely unaware of the brutal way in which they are farmed and ultimately slaughtered for their bones. Breaking into these facilities to expose the cruelty these tigers are exposed to is a vital part of bringing the truth to the wider world.

Why should people watch the film and what do you hope they’ll take away from it?

Anyone with an interest in conservation should watch this film. It is an investigation into the destruction and extinction of an apex predator, an insight into how the commodification of a farmed product can affect an entire wildlife species. It is an action-packed, thrilling shocker of an investigation that will take the viewer to some unexpected places. I hope that this film will make a small difference and add to the weight of work that international and local NGOs are doing in the field of tiger protection and conservation.

(The series premieres on October 3 at 9 pm on Sony BBC Earth.)