"It's generally increasing," Louis Ng, president of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), told AFP.

According to Ng, among the banned pets seized in the past three months by veterinary officials were one rhesus macaque monkey and a star tortoise from India, and two South American iguanas.

Ng said that in 2002 more than 2,000 protected animals were confiscated in Singapore, where over 80 percent of the people live in public housing flats.

Acres said the campaign, which will involve a series of roadshows around main shopping centres, aims to raise awareness of the detrimental effects of the illicit pet trade.

"The ongoing illegal pet trade has severe consequences for the survival of every species involved," Acres said in a statement.

"More than half of the smuggled animals die, and the surviving animals mostly end up living in bad conditions or are mistreated," it said.

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