Letter to the Editor: Perhilitan Needs To Answer For The Killing Of Dusky Langurs

 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

PERHILITAN NEEDS TO ANSWER FOR THE KILLING OF DUSKY LANGURS

 

(Photo credits: The Vibes. Link to the original article by The Vibes here: https://www.thevibes.com/articles/news/28309/port-dickson-folk-livid-over-heartless-shooting-of-endangered-langurs) 

It is a cruel irony that on May 23, just one day after the International Day for Biological Diversity, which was observed and marked with a positive-sounding statement from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP / Perhilitan), Perhilitan officers allegedly shot and killed 20 dusky langurs, which are classified as Protected Wildlife under the First Schedule of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, and as Endangered under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

 

The outrage and horror of the public over the alleged killing of these dusky langurs in Port Dickson is justified and requires an official response from Perhilitan.

 

It is unfathomable that trained and armed wildlife officers called to assist with the problem of aggressive long-tailed macaques would be unable to tell the difference between the shy and retiring dusky langurs and the admittedly bolder macaques.

 

The shooting of the langurs appears to have been executed unprofessionally, as instead of being merciful and quick, the suffering and agony of the langurs were unnecessarily prolonged, as described in the testimony of eyewitnesses. The additionally brutal act of executing a mother langur and her baby in cold blood has further left citizens wondering if Perhilitan officers are able to evaluate what does or does not constitute a threat.

 

This unnecessary and vicious killing is not an isolated incident. The Perhilitan units in various states have a long history of being implicated in the killing of wild animals, many of which have not been proven to be threats to local residents. There is a report of Perhilitan Negeri Sembilan killing a peaceful herd of wild boars in October 2017, and even enabling a pack of hunting dogs to maul the wild piglets to death. In 2013, Aljazeera reported that Perhilitan culled 10,000 long-tailed macaques in 2012, and Perhilitan confirmed the existence of the culling operations even while acknowledging agricultural expansion and housing developments near forested areas to be the causes of human-macaque conflict. We must remember that the population of stray animals and wild species such as macaques explodes only when humans make changes to the environment and interfere with the lives of animals so significantly over a period of time that it changes the availability of food supply and the existence of predators and competitors of a particular species.

 

Ironically, the Director-General of Perhilitan had in an official pronouncement in March 2019 reminded the public not to kill or ill-treat wildlife, and warned the public that cruelty to wildlife is an offence under Section 86 of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010. The D-G had also emphasized the need to protect wildlife and ensure the survival of endangered species, and sought the cooperation of the public to contact Perhilitan in the event of a human-wildlife conflict instead of taking matters into one’s own hands. Can we, the public, now invoke the same section to demand that the officers who had shot the langurs be prosecuted for cruelty to wildlife? Considering that even non-wildlife experts and local residents are able to tell that the langurs are not a threat to humans, can the Perhilitan officers really be said to have acted in good faith and to actually believe that they were carrying out their official duties to protect wildlife and mitigate human-wildlife conflict? If that were true, then perhaps a retraining of all Perhilitan officers is in order.

 

Even in the case of problem wildlife such as long-tailed macaques, wildlife experts concur that culling may not be the best solution, and should never be the first option. Culling could destroy biodiversity by harming unrelated species, for example, in the current case in which complaints were made about long-tailed macaques but it was ultimately the harmless and endangered langurs that were slain. Culling could result in unintended ecological consequences, for example, as in the now-famous anecdote of how China had, in 1949, culled sparrows as a disease prevention measure, which resulted in the destruction of crops by locusts as there were insufficient sparrows to keep the locusts in check. Culling may, in fact, lead to the increase in the population that the authorities is trying to cull, as can be seen in the case of the feral cat population in Tasmania. Scientists and animal behaviourists have observed that when older, dominant adult animals are killed, younger animals move in from the surrounding areas to replace the adult animals, as the older and more dominant adult animals are no longer around to kill or chase away the younger animals. Culling some animals from a ‘problematic’ colony also creates more space, food, and reproductive opportunities for the ones that remain, and within a short time, their population will bounce back to what it was pre-cull.

 

To reduce human-macaque conflict, developers need to build human homes further away from wildlife habitats and forest fringes, create buffer zones, and install security fences and monkey-proof garbage bins. Perhilitan needs to monitor areas with reported human-wildlife conflicts and enforce their threats to fine and punish people who feed wildlife. Without the wildlife feeders and easy availability of human-generated food waste, much of the conflict between humans and macaques could have been reduced.

 

Culling is cruel both to the humans who have to desensitize themselves to the pain and suffering of animals to perform this brutal act, and cruel to the animals who are often just the victims of their circumstances – wild boars and macaques, do not, after all, ask for housing areas or highways to be constructed through their habitats and do not ask to be fed. Translocation and relocation to national parks and forest reserves, sterilization of wild animals by qualified vets, and biological pest control by reintroducing the natural predators of an overpopulated species are all more humane, more sustainable, and more responsible options than culling, although more expensive and time-consuming initially. However, we owe it to the animals to at least find kinder and gentler resolutions to human-wildlife conflict, considering that the conflict is a manmade one.

 

Public confidence in Perhilitan as a wildlife protection agency is at an all-time low. Those of us working in the conservation and animal protection sectors have a difficult time convincing members of the public to report wildlife crimes and urban wildlife sightings to Perhilitan via its hotline numbers. This does not bode well for the future of wildlife conservation and rehabilitation in Malaysia, if the general response of the public is that they would rather condone the keeping of wildlife as pets or release captured wild animals themselves than refer the matter to the country’s only official agency responsible for the protection and conservation of wildlife. The D-G of Perhilitan needs to investigate the killing of the langurs immediately and come up with new SOPs for dealing with human-wildlife conflict to restore public confidence in the agency. Members of the public will also need to play their part in learning to coexist with local fauna and reduce the risk of human-wildlife conflicts instead of reporting encounters with wildlife as problems to be dealt with and eliminated.

 

 

 

WONG EE LYNN

PETALING JAYA, SELANGOR

 

Letter to the Editor: Captive Breeding of Tigers Is Not Conservation

 LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

CAPTIVE BREEDING OF TIGERS IS NOT CONSERVATION

The proposal by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) to breed the critically endangered Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) at the National Tiger Conservation Centre for release and ‘rewilding’ raises many reasons for concern.

The reason for the decline in the population of Malayan tigers is not that the tigers are not mating or breeding enough. Tigers, like most members of the cat family, are prolific breeders, which explains why the number of tigers in captivity continue to rise worldwide, even as wild tiger populations continue to be decimated.

The Malayan tiger is critically endangered in the wild because of habitat destruction, diminishing prey species, poaching, and the wildlife trade. Human encroachment into tiger habitats, usually for agriculture, also increases the risk of human-wildlife conflict. In such conflicts, tigers often die from being shot or snared by plantation or livestock owners, or from diseases such as canine distemper virus when they come in contact with infected dogs introduced by humans.

Researchers from the University of Exeter found in a 2008 study that most captive-born predators do not survive following release. The chances of carnivores such as tigers and wolves surviving freedom is only 33%, due to their lack of hunting skills and lack of fear of humans, and susceptibility to viruses and diseases.

Conservation organisation Born Free Foundation also points out that wild tigers born in human-controlled environments such as wildlife reserves and zoos are unlikely to be successfully released and will often spend the rest of their lives in captivity. Part of the reason is genetics. There are not enough tigers in breeding programmes to sustain genetic diversity over a long period of time. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums tries to diversify captive gene pools by exchanging breeding animals between zoos, but genetic drift and genetic bottlenecks can still occur. Genetic weaknesses in breeding stocks can result in deadly diseases, as seen in India’s effort to breed the Asiatic lion. Captive breeding programmes should not take too many animals out of the wild for breeding programmes either, as it will remove their genes from circulation in the wild.

It takes over a year for tiger cubs to learn how to stalk, catch, and kill their prey from their mothers. According to conservation charity Flora & Fauna International, captive tigers, whether they have been hand-reared by humans or raised with their mothers, lack the vital exposure from wild and experienced mothers to be predators. There is also the risk that captive-bred wild tigers, even if raised with their mothers and other tigers, will associate humans with food and lose their fear of vehicles. Upon release, they could pose a bigger threat to humans and livestock than wild tigers, as they are less likely to avoid human habitation and farms.

Efforts around the globe to reintroduce captive-bred tigers into the wild has not been met with much success. After over 30 years of expert conservation efforts and successfully breeding over 1,000 Siberian tigers in captivity, China has still not been able to release even one of these tigers into the wild. Kazakhstan has been trying to reintroduce Amur or Siberian tigers into its Balkhash region but the project has not borne any results yet.

India successfully released Bengal tigers in the Panna and Sariska Tiger Reserves as part of its Tiger Reintroduction Project, but researchers unfortunately found that the released tigers were not breeding successfully, presumably due to stress caused by the presence of human activity near the tiger reserves. This strongly indicates that reducing human activity near wildlife habitats is still key to their protection and conservation. Being able to have enough living adult tigers to release into a designated area is not a measure of success. Success can only be said to be achieved when reintroduced tigers are able to survive, thrive, and breed. This means that we need to invest at least as much energy and resources in the protection of wild habitats as in the captive breeding of the Malayan tiger.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)’s Tigers Alive Initiative has pointed out that “reintroducing tigers is the easier part, protecting the site and prey base is even more complex”. Not only must captive-bred tigers be trained to hunt and survive in the wild, there must also be suitable prey and appropriate breeding partners in the area marked for their reintroduction.

Due to deforestation, habitat destruction, lack of prey species, and poaching, there are not many suitable habitats left in Peninsular Malaysia for tigers to be released into. There is not much use in creating a thriving captive population of tigers if we continue to clear primary rainforests for development and agricultural projects. To maintain a healthy wild tiger population, we need healthy ecosystems.

In addition, professionals in the field of tiger conservation agree that to stop the extinction of wild tigers, there must be comprehensive poaching prevention strategies. This is why the PDRM’s recent announcement of a stricter crackdown on the wildlife trade and firearm possession is such welcome news. The captive breeding of tigers cannot help to restore wild populations unless there is an end to poaching and the trade in tiger parts. There must be stricter law enforcement and harsher penalties for wildlife crimes, and Malaysia must play its part in helping to incapacitate wildlife trafficking networks.

The resources allocated for this ambitious project to breed the Malayan tiger in captivity should instead be redirected to conserving and protecting wild habitats and the remaining wild tigers, and to the prevention of poaching and wildlife trafficking.

WONG EE LYNN

PETALING JAYA, SELANGOR

Letter to the Editor: Crackdown on Wildlife Trade Sorely Needed and Appreciated

 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

CRACKDOWN ON WILDLIFE TRADE SORELY NEEDED AND APPRECIATED

 

It is with relief, hope, and gratitude that environmentalists received the welcome news that Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador has directed that all District Police Chiefs will have to report on wildlife trade in their jurisdictions within a month (19 Aug 2020). This is consistent with the IGP’s earlier pledge in October 2019 to crack down hard on wildlife crimes and push for harsher penalties for those convicted of wildlife crimes.

 

We further commend the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM)’s decision to revoke the firearm licenses of licence holders who are found to have engaged in the hunting of wildlife, and hope that PDRM will continue to investigate licence holders, and revoke licenses and confiscate firearms where necessary. This is not only an important move to curtail wildlife hunting and to prevent the killing of wildlife in situations where the wild animal does not pose an actual and immediate threat to human lives and safety, but also to preserve national security and reduce firearm-related accidents, injuries, and deaths.

 

Our IGP’s commitment to protecting Malaysia’s wildlife is applauded, as is the Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Peninsular Malaysia’s (Perhilitan) recent operations which resulted in the arrest of poachers and the timely rescue of live animals and recovery of wildlife parts and products. The public is, however, understandably concerned that many such operations succeed in the arrests only of rural and indigenous hunters and couriers and other bit-players in wildlife crime networks, while the kingpins who fuel demand and create supply in the wildlife trade manage to avoid detection and arrest. This is why recommendations such as a shoot-on-sight policy will not work – not merely because it goes against human rights and the due process of law and may lead to abuse of power and extrajudicial killings, but because it unfairly targets the pawns in wildlife trade, and may even delay or hinder the discovery and arrest of wildlife kingpins. What we need is for our enforcement agencies to work together with INTERPOL, conservation groups such as TRAFFIC Southeast Asia and MYCAT, and governmental and intergovernmental agencies to gather incriminating evidence against these ringleaders and masterminds and bring them to justice. Without the incapacitation of these wildlife trade syndicates and their leaders, there can be no effective and lasting justice for, or protection of, wildlife.

 

Malaysia’s wildlife species have been declining rapidly due to poaching, habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and human-wildlife conflict. Hardly a week goes by without another news report of elephant or tapir deaths due to traffic accidents or poisoning, or tiger deaths due to poaching or as revenge for eating livestock. For years, concerned members of the public and conservation NGOs have been alerting the police and Perhilitan to the presence of pet stores, traditional medicine shops, restaurants, and online traders selling wildlife and wildlife parts, only to experience frustration and dismay when these reports did not result in arrests or consequences. Conservationists have long urged for swift and decisive action to be taken against wildlife offenders and for harsher penalties to be meted out, but progress has been slow and inconsistent. It is an open secret that VIPs and people in positions of power and influence are often involved in wildlife crimes and often get away unpunished. The ‘soft approach’ to tackling wildlife crimes has not worked. Too much resources and manpower have already been poured into education and awareness programmes, yet at the end of the day when all the posters have been painted and the prizes given out and the mascots have done song-and-dance routines in schools and shopping malls, the wildlife trade has not only continued unabated but flourished, because the financial rewards are significant, and the penalties lenient and derisory. The time for diplomacy and coercion is over, and the time for concrete action is long overdue. For too long, wildlife and environmental crimes have been perceived as being victimless, or less serious than crimes against fellow humans or property, which explains why the penalties are frequently inadequate. Today, we know this is not true. The wildlife trade is a lucrative one, and it finances and is linked to human trafficking, the drug trade, organised crime, governmental corruption, and terrorist activity. The punishment for wildlife offences must therefore be commensurate with their gravity and the damage and harm they cause to the environment, biodiversity, and human society.

 

There are amendments being proposed to the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 to increase the minimum penalty for wildlife poaching to a minimum fine of RM1 million and 15 years’ imprisonment. I believe I speak for all right-thinking and responsible Malaysians when I urge all Members of Parliament to vote in favour of these harsher penalties. Any MP who votes against these proposed harsher penalties should be investigated for any possible links with the wildlife trade industry, as it is inconceivable that there could be any good reason to oppose such a proposal. A vote for a harsher sentence is therefore a vote against corruption, cruelty, and the sheer idiocy of unscientific practices such as the consumption of wild animals for their ostensible medicinal value. A vote for a harsher sentence is not only a vote for the continued survival of wild and endangered species, but a vote for a safer, better, and healthier country and planet.

 

 

WONG EE LYNN

PETALING JAYA

Letter to the Editor: Cease Feeding of Wild Birds and Other Wildlife

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

CEASE FEEDING WILD BIRDS AND ANIMALS

I am surprised by the advice offered by the Taiping Zoo and Night Safari director Dr. Kevin Lazarus to tourists not to overfeed wild Brahminy Kites (‘Don’t overfeed brahminy kites’, The Star, 15 Jan 2020). I would have expected an expert like him to strongly object to the practice of feeding wild birds and other wild animals.

The advice given not to ‘overfeed’ the Brahminy Kites is also difficult to measure and act upon, because tourists and tour boat operators are not veterinarians or wildlife ecologists and are not able to estimate how much food to give and what would constitute overfeeding. They would not know if other tour boat operators or tourists who had come earlier in the day have already fed the birds. It is difficult, if not impossible, to draw up guidelines on appropriate and sufficient feeding of wild birds and expect tourists and tour boat operators to adhere to these guidelines.

Further, tour boat operators in Pulau Langkawi, Kuala Sepetang, and similar areas provide the Brahminy Kites and eagles with the cheapest food possible, namely, chicken skin, entrails, and gizzards, which are sourced from broiler farms that use antibiotics and growth promoters, and this will have an adverse impact on the wild birds’ health and immune systems in the long run. As the good doctor himself acknowledged, feeding the wild birds with chicken skin and fat will result in calcium deficiency, obesity, and ultimately, population decline as the wild birds’ eggs may break during incubation due to the aforementioned calcium deficiency.

The well-being of wild birds and other wildlife should be given priority over the trivial whims of tourists who wish to be entertained. Wildlife experts and the authorities should be very firm about not permitting the feeding of any kind of wildlife. The practice of feeding wild animals cause more harm than good and should be prohibited. PERHILITAN and the Forestry Department should apprehend and fine offenders who ignore signs not to feed wildlife.

Feeding wild animals alters their natural behavior and makes them less afraid of humans. This could expose them to greater risk of being trapped, poached, or poisoned. Almost every human-wildlife conflict incident that we read of starts with the narrative of well-intentioned people feeding wild monkeys, boars, bears, sharks, or other animals, and ends with a dead or injured human or animal. Fed animals also end up killed when they enter human territory for more food.

Diseases and pathogens also spread more easily among wild birds and animals when they congregate to feed. Animals that are usually solitary or who socialize only with their own species end up having increased inter-species contact when they congregate at feeding sites, and may contract salmonella and other pathogens when they come in contact with other animals’ saliva and feces. This is what happened to the White Ibis population in Georgia (USA), and we should make every effort possible to ensure this does not happen to our own wild bird and animal populations.

I am aware that tour boat operators rely on activities such as the feeding of Brahminy Kites and White-Bellied Sea Eagles to give their business a competitive edge and provide an interactive experience for their clients. It is only natural that tourists would want to feel as if they have had close contact with a wild species, or have ‘helped’ a local species by providing food. I propose setting up hatcheries to increase native fish stocks, and then getting tourists to pay to release the fish fry or fingerlings into the sea. This will not only replenish native fish populations but also provide job opportunities for local communities. Tourists like to feel that they are ‘giving back’ to the local community and wildlife, and releasing fish fry may be a feasible alternative to feeding wild birds with inappropriate food.

WONG EE LYNN

PETALING JAYA, SELANGOR

Letter to the Editor: Death of Rare Birds Exposes Horrors of Exotic Pet Trade

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

DEATH OF RARE BIRDS EXPOSES HORRORS OF EXOTIC PET TRADE

 

(Photo credits: The Star Online)

 

The tragic, senseless and deliberate drowning of 300 rare birds by wildlife traffickers when pursued by the authorities (Wed, 17 Jan 2018) evinces the cruel and destructive nature of the exotic pet trade.

 

The birds were drowned because they were merely merchandise and not sentient living beings to the traffickers, and when pursued, the birds became a liability and possible evidence in the event of arrest.

 

Birds are especially vulnerable to poaching and trafficking because of their abiding popularity as pets. Birds, especially parrots, are sedated and have their beaks cut or taped up, legs bound and wings clipped or tied by wildlife traffickers. The Animal Law Coalition reports that 60 percent of wild-caught birds do not survive to reach their destinations. Most die of shock, stress, illness and injury during capture, transportation, transit and captivity.

 

  Readers who expressed sorrow at the needless deaths of the birds must realise that such incidents are not uncommon, and Malaysia is not merely a stopover for wildlife traffickers who are non-Malaysian citizens.

 

Malaysia is known to be a hub for wildlife trafficking and the illegal wildlife trade despite the existence of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 and Animal Welfare Act 2015. There are very few regulations in place making it difficult for people to purchase, acquire, or keep exotic animals, especially when proper licenses have been obtained.

 

Environmental organisations including TRAFFIC and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) confirm the existence of a flourishing trade in live animals and endangered species in Malaysia, and social media is a virtual wildlife supermarket offering everything from Common Hill Mynas to trapdoor spiders and sun bear cubs.

 

The international wildlife trade involves a multi-million dollar organised crime network. The Wildlife Conservation Society reports that the wildlife trade, which is valued to be approximately US$8 billion annually, is surpassed in scale only by the illegal trade in drugs and arms. Government agencies are no match for wildlife poachers and traffickers. Corruption, porous borders, and a lack of resources and manpower make it difficult for many developing countries to stop the illegal wildlife trade.

 

Yet stamping out the wildlife trade cannot be the responsibility of governments and law enforcement agencies alone. It is not them who are driving up the demand for exotic pets, but consumers who treat exotic pets as status symbols, social media users who upload and share posts featuring captive wildlife and exotic pets, and tourists who pay money to have photo opportunities with exotic pets and drugged wildlife.

 

Many people who defend their ‘right’ to purchase and keep wild birds and other exotic pets hang on to the misguided belief that the animals are safer in their care now that rainforests and other wildlife habitats have been destroyed, or that there is virtually no difference between keeping wildlife and keeping dogs, cats and other domestic animals as companion animals.

 

However, we must remember that the wildlife trade is a major threat to biodiversity, ecosystems and even human health and safety. Birds, especially parrots, can spread parrot fever and pneumonia, especially through the inhalation of their dry droppings in a cage or aviary. Keeping wild animals indoors confined to small tanks, cages and enclosures, away from members of their own species, is neither educational nor compassionate. Many exotic pets often end up being released, surrendered to zoos, abandoned or unintentionally killed due to ignorance and neglect. Many exotic species advertised as ‘captive bred’ are actually poached from the wild, since DNA testing cannot reveal whether an animal was raised in captivity or in the wild.

 

If the report of the drowned birds had saddened us, then it must also move us into action. We cannot continue normalising the practice of poaching, abusing, exploiting and confining wildlife. We need to question if our purchases and choices destroy habitats and the ability of rural and indigenous communities to sustain themselves, thus driving them to poach wildlife for a living. We need to refrain from taking photos with wildlife, sharing wildlife selfies on social media, and allowing circuses and badly-kept zoos to profit from exploiting wildlife.

 

Nature-lovers who enjoy watching and photographing wildlife must take extra care not to disclose the location of endangered species and birds’ nests. We need to advise friends and family against purchasing or acquiring exotic pets, and persuade them to adopt from local animal shelters or to visit and support sanctuaries and rescue organisations instead. We need to avoid shopping at pet stores that sell exotic pets, and should lodge reports on the sales of wildlife to Perhilitan or wildlife conservation groups that can assist in investigating and acting on our reports. Those who intend to report wildlife crime must be vigilant and relay accurate information, such as the species, location, photographic and documentary evidence and contact information, to Perhilitan’s official website or through their Careline at 1300-80-10-10, or to the 24-hour NGO-run Wildlife Crime Hotline at 019 356 4194.

 

Birds in their natural habitat are not only beautiful to observe, but have an important ecological role to play. Birds pollinate plants, disperse seeds and keep insect and other disease vector populations down. The exotic pet trade is driving many wild bird species to extinction, and this can have a knock-on effect on other species and result in ecological imbalance. There has to be a worldwide import ban on the bird trade to stop bird species from being poached and trafficked to extinction, and at the same time, more needs to be done to reduce the domestic demand for keeping wild birds as pets as well. It would do well for us to think of the excruciating yet avoidable deaths of the drowned birds before we purchase birds as pets or upload a wildlife selfie.

 

WONG EE LYNN COORDINATOR,

GREEN LIVING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP,

MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY

Letter to the Editor: Our Shared Duty To Prevent Wildlife Deaths

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

OUR SHARED DUTY TO PREVENT WILDLIFE DEATHS

 

 

 

The demise of Puntung, one of the last three remaining Sumatran rhinoceroses (June 4), united the nation in our grief. Just weeks later, the tragic and avoidable death of a baby elephant by a speeding vehicle on the Gerik-Jeli Highway (June 19) left both the public and the conservation community dismayed and horrified. Photos that surfaced on social media in the same month (June 5) of the hunting and killing of protected and endangered species including the Malayan sun bear, ostensibly by indigenous hunters, are a further indication of the grave threats faced by Malaysian wildlife. It looks as though the future for wildlife in Malaysia is very bleak indeed, and that extinction is a certainty for many species.

 

Human behavioural change is essential to stopping wildlife trade and preventing extinction. As a direct result of poaching and habitat loss, there are only 2 Sumatran rhinoceros left in Malaysia following Puntung’s death. In order for anti-poaching and anti-wildlife trafficking laws to succeed, there must be public education and awareness efforts to encourage and reward wildlife crime reporting, eradicate bribery and corruption, and discourage the hunting, trafficking, sale, and consumption of wildlife.

 

The power of social media must be harnessed to expose, report, identify and prosecute wildlife offenders, and to educate society that traditional medicine relying on wildlife parts such as rhinoceros horn and pangolin scales are a fraud and harmful both to wildlife populations and human safety and health. Whether or not we are in the medical or conservation communities, we must make it clear to everyone including other social media users, indigenous communities and the older generation who make up the majority of traditional Chinese medicine consumers that there are no benefits to consuming wildlife parts, and there is no such thing as legal or sustainable trade in wildlife.

 

The hunting of wildlife by indigenous communities is a sensitive issue, and prosecuting indigenous hunters may be viewed as an oppressive act that impinges on indigenous rights. However, it cannot be denied that many indigenous hunters capture or kill wildlife for commercial gain, and the absence of arrests and prosecution will only embolden poachers and hunters to act with impunity. Some of the hunters may already be aware that the hunting and death rates have already exceeded the natural reproduction and growth rates of certain species, yet yield to the temptation of making a quick gain. We cannot ignore the human factor in wildlife protection, and as such, must participate in and contribute to efforts and initiatives to empower and provide alternative and sustainable livelihoods for rural and indigenous communities to reduce and eventually eliminate their need for poaching and hunting.

 

Environmentalists have consistently objected to the construction of new highways through forests and wildlife habitats, knowing the adverse ecological effects. In situations where such infrastructure already exists, there must be systems put in place to mitigate harm to natural areas and wildlife. Whenever wildlife deaths by traffic occur, the public is quick to demand high-tech, high-cost solutions such as more wildlife viaducts and underpasses. Wildlife viaducts, corridors, culverts and underpasses, although expensive and time-consuming to construct, are without doubt the best ways to reduce wildlife deaths and alleviate the effects of habitat fragmentation. However, human behavioural change is a critical component of wildlife protection. Not all wildlife will use viaducts without fail, and until more viaducts are constructed, many more animals will succumb to wildlife-vehicle collisions. Some lower cost techniques and approaches to encourage driver behavioural change can include:

• Increasing public education to inculcate fauna- and bird-friendly driving attitudes and improve driver safety; • Improving signage and lighting in areas with wildlife sightings;

• Introducing signage requiring drivers to honk near wildlife habitats to warn animals;

• Reducing or blocking off roadside food and water sources (e.g. grassy verges, fruiting trees, streams) to discourage wildlife from venturing to roadside areas for food and water;

• Installing light reflectors to intensify light from oncoming vehicles in order to scare or warn wildlife of approaching vehicles;

• Installing speed bumps to slow down traffic near wildlife habitats;

• Introducing light-coloured road surfaces to increase visibility and discourage wildlife from loitering and resting on roads;

• Installing devices that will detect wildlife or oncoming vehicles and emit warning sirens to alert both driver and wildlife;

• Developing and utilising mobile apps that work together with apps such as Waze and Google Maps to warn drivers of the presence of wildlife; and

• Installing speed cameras and enforcing speed limits in wildlife-rich areas.

 

The existence of wildlife protection laws alone will not ensure the survival of wildlife. It is incumbent upon all of us to take steps and modify our attitudes and behaviour to reduce wildlife deaths, failing which we will have to bear the detrimental environmental, economic and social consequences of an ecologically imbalanced and impoverished world.

 

WONG EE LYNN

COORDINATOR,

GREEN LIVING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP,

MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY

Close call for Heckle and Jeckle

I was about to leave my office to attend my friend Eddin's jazz performance at No Black Tie on 21st March when my good friends Rudhra and Angela sent a message to our Whatsapp group informing me of two glue-covered mynahs they had rescued.

There was no question about what I should do next. I was there within half an hour.

I will let Rudhra tell this story in his own words:

 

 

"I was about to begin my run yesterday evening when a man walking ahead of me stopped in his tracks and beckoned. By the wall of the TTDI primary school, amidst a heap of rubbish, leaves and branches lay a mynah. It didn’t look injured although its movement was inhibited -- upon closer inspection, we discovered that its body and feathers was coated in a sticky substance. I suggested bringing it back to Angela (my wife’s) house to get it cleaned up and just as we were leaving, out popped a second and larger mynah from under the branches. Unfortunately, it was in a similar state so we gathered both mynahs and left.

By the time we got home the mynahs had become rather distressed. After a while, the man (whose name was Paul) had to go and wished us the best. Angela and I spent the next half hour trying to clean them (or find them) as they hopped and hid all around the garden, behind pots, plants and in the drain.

I decided to contact my friend Ee Lynn for advice -- Ee Lynn has a lot of knowledge and experience in caring for and rescuing animals so if there was anyone I knew who could help, it was her. She gave me a list of things to do (and NOT to do) but feeling a little overwhelmed and uncertain of my ability (I feared causing them further distress or worse, injuring them) I asked if she would come over. Despite having plans to attend a show later that night, she said yes – she’d be right there and boy, was I relieved.

Ee Lynn arrived about 20 minutes later and spent the rest of the evening just being Ee Lynn. With unreserved patience, care and compassion she set about the task of cleaning and comforting both mynahs. After over an hour of oiling and scrubbing, she had gotten nearly all of the gunk off so we placed them in a box with water and food to dry off over the night. Ee Lynn was late for her show of course, but it did not matter – making sure the mynahs were OK was her priority and thankfully, they were.

This morning, Angela and I released them in the park. They hopped around, flew a bit and made for the bushes and trees. Their wings were still a little damp but it’s a hot day outside and I imagine they’ll be ok once they’ve dried off completely. Thank you Ee Lynn for saving these mynahs and, as always, for being an exemplar of kindness and humanity. You rock."

 

 

(All photo credits: Rudhra.)

 

I named the mynahs Heckle and Jeckle, even though I know that in the animated series, Heckle and Jeckle are magpies, not mynahs.

 

 

This is the state that Rudhra found the Jeckle in.

 

 

First, I carefully rubbed talcum powder onto the bird's feathers to make the glue less sticky and easier to handle. From its viscosity, texture and appearance, I think the birds have gotten themselves stuck in a glue trap. They must have also tried to free their feathers from the glue using their feet and beaks, which were all covered in glue as well.

 

 

I massaged each bird carefully with lots of olive oil and gently rubbed the glue off.

 

 

Each bird was then shampooed and rinsed off and the cycle of oiling and shampooing was then repeated 3-4 times until there are no traces of gunk left.

Angela and Rudhra put the exhausted, wet and frightened birds in a ventilated box with some uncooked rice and drinking water so they could rest and recover overnight.

The birds were still a little wet but looked much healthier and stronger in the morning.

 

 

Goodbye and good luck, Heckle and Jeckle! Take care! We love you!

It helps to remember these very basic things to do when you find a bird covered in glue from a glue trap:

1. Switch off all ceiling and table fans to prevent the birds from getting themselves killed while trying to escape.

2. Close all windows, toilets and anything that a panicking bird could fall into or out of, and get killed or injured in its attempt to escape.

3. Use powder or flour on feathers to make the glue easier to handle. Avoid getting any in the bird's eyes, nostrils or beak. It may be easier to apply the flour/powder if you pour the flour or powder into your hand first.

4. Now use oil and massage it into the feathers gently. Use your fingernails to GENTLY and LIGHTLY scrape off the glue.

5. Lather the feathers with shampoo. Again, avoid the eyes, nostrils and beak.

6. Rinse.

7. Repeat steps 4-5 until there is no stickiness left.

Here is Birdlife International's basic guide on what to do when you find a bird in need. If you live in KL/Selangor, you can also contact Dr. Jalila Abu of the Avian Vet Unit of UPM at 03 8946 8340.

 

Letter to the Editor: Trade Ban On Pangolins only as Effective As Its Enforcement

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

TRADE BAN ON PANGOLINS ONLY AS EFFECTIVE AS ITS ENFORCEMENT

 

 

 

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)’s recent worldwide ban on all 8 species of pangolins has brought cheer to the conservation community.

 

Pangolins face grave threats to their survival not only from the illegal wildlife trade, but also from habitat loss and a low reproductive rate. Female pangolins produce only one offspring a year. Pangolins play an important role in the ecosystem, as their diet consists of ants and termites, and they thus provide biological pest control. It is estimated that a single pangolin consumes over 70 million ants and termites a year, and from this fact, one can imagine the role of pangolins as nature’s pest controllers and soil caretakers.

 

Pangolins, including the Sunda / Malayan Pangolin (Manis javanica) are considered the world’s most trafficked mammal and are at risk of extinction due to relentless hunting and poaching, especially for the China and Vietnam markets, where pangolin meat is considered a delicacy and a status symbol.

 

Pangolin foetus soup ostensibly improves male virility, while pangolin scales are ground into powder and used to treat rheumatism and skin disease, although like rhino horns, the scales are made of keratin, the same protein that forms human hair and fingernails, and there is no scientific or medical evidence to support the claim that it has any healing or beneficial properties.

 

It is hoped that the CITES trade ban will not only eradicate legal trade in pangolins but also reduce illegal trade by influencing consumer behaviour.

 

However, a trade ban is only as effective as its enforcement. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), numbers of wild Sunda pangolins have decreased by half in the last 15 years.

 

Studies by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, reveal that as pangolin populations are depleted in Indochina, wildlife dealers currently source pangolins from Malaysia and Indonesia. Its studies also found that the pangolin trade has spread to Sabah and Sarawak due to the decline in the pangolin population in Peninsular Malaysia.

 

According to the report by TRAFFIC, interviews with pangolin hunters in Sabah reveal that the hunters are aware of the illegality of hunting pangolins, and the critically endangered status of pangolins. However, the hunters admitted that the lucrative price made it difficult for them to stop hunting pangolins.

 

In order for the pangolin trade ban to be effective, enforcement agencies must treat wildlife trade as a serious international crime that threatens not only wildlife populations and the natural environment, but also ultimately human survival. Wildlife law enforcement agencies and prosecution bodies must cooperate with environmental organisations and monitoring bodies to eradicate corruption, stop wildlife trade, incapacitate wildlife trafficking syndicates and mete out the most severe punishments possible for wildlife offenders.

 

There are reports that live pangolins confiscated by enforcement agencies are frequently released in their weakened state without planning or monitoring, and this jeopardises their chances of survival. Thus efforts to ensure the survival of pangolins should also encompass the rehabilitation, management and subsequent release of confiscated pangolins.

 

The international trade ban and enforcement of anti-wildlife trafficking laws must necessarily be complemented by public education and awareness efforts in order to succeed. This is where members of the public come in.

 

We can all play a role in phasing out and ending wildlife trade and preventing the extinction of pangolins. As conscientious and informed members of society, we must speak out and use our persuasive powers to influence others to reduce the consumer demand for pangolins and other wildlife. Even those of us who are not educators or volunteers can speak to others, including the younger generation, rural and indigenous communities and senior citizens who believe in the curative powers of wildlife-based traditional medicine, and educate them not only of the role of pangolins in the ecosystem, but also of the fact that the entire wildlife-based traditional medicine industry is a sham designed to enrich a few profiteers and impoverish the gullible. This is why measures such as captive breeding and farming wildlife and creating biotech substitutes for wildlife products such as rhino horns and bear bile are ineffective in ending wildlife crime – because they continue to reinforce the belief that there are curative properties to pangolin scales, rhino horn, bear bile and other wildlife products. To end the exploitation of and illegal trade in wildlife, we must be unequivocal in educating wildlife consumers that there are no benefits to consuming wildlife parts, and there is no such thing as legal or sustainable trade in wildlife.

 

Given the popularity of travel to other East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, travellers can do their part not only by not consuming or purchasing pangolin wine, meat, scales or other wildlife products, but actively speaking up and informing tour operators and fellow travellers that they refuse to enter any establishment that offers pangolin products, bushmeat, exotic pets or other wildlife products. Travellers must vote with their money and their voice by writing in to tour agencies, national wildlife enforcement agencies, wildlife monitoring bodies and animal welfare and conservation NGOs operating in the relevant countries to complain about and report wildlife crimes. It is helpful to take photos as evidence and compile as much useful information as possible, including locations, dates and other information that will aid in tracking down and identifying wildlife offenders.

 

Crimes, including suspected crimes (e.g. a restaurant offering ‘special meat’ and ‘special dishes’) against pangolins and other wildlife in Malaysia can be reported to the 24-hour MYCAT Wildlife Crime Hotline at 019 356 4194 or report@malayantiger.net.

 

Everyone should participate in efforts and organisations that create, fund and support initiatives to not merely educate, but also empower and provide alternative and sustainable livelihoods for rural and indigenous communities to reduce and eventually eliminate their need for poaching and hunting. The fact remains that in many parts of the world, indigenous communities are forced off their ancestral lands and denied the opportunity for meaningful participation in the natural resource economy, thus driving them to hunt and poach wildlife for their economic survival. We cannot effectively protect wildlife and habitats without considering the human factor. This is where the rest of us come in as consumers, travellers, donors, sponsors, volunteers, advocates, social media users and supporters.

 

Protecting endangered species is not the role of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN) or conservation NGOs and experts alone, and the environmental responsibility of ordinary citizens and consumers goes beyond merely recycling our bottles and having shorter showers. Species conservation is our shared duty and responsibility, and pangolins and other wildlife need us as their defenders and protectors now more than ever.

 

WONG EE LYNN

COORDINATOR,

GREEN LIVING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP,

MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY

 

(Photo credits: Wikipedia)

A Bento Shoutout to Elephants on World Elephant Day

My bento for World Elephant Day 2016.

• Support a worldwide ban on the ivory trade.

• End the exploitation of elephants in the entertainment and tourism industries.

• Keep habitats intact and biologically diverse.

• Develop better ways of reducing human-elephant conflict, esp in agricultural zones.

 

 

(Top left: Fuji apple and baby carrots.

Top right: Starfruit slices, pear slices and elephants cut out of mango.

Main compartment: Panzanella containing red cabbage, cherry tomatoes, capsicum, kyuri, flaxseed, chia seeds, olive oil, coconut oil, sliced mushrooms, black olives and bread cubes, contained in a garlic-flavoured wrap. Elephant silhouette cut out of nori seaweed and attached to the wrap using peanut butter.

All ingredients are vegan and conflict palm-oil free, and all fresh vegetables used in the panzanella are organic.)

A Roar of Support for Tigers

This is my vegan Tiger Bento in honour of International Tiger Day.

 

(Top left: Celery and carrots.

Top right: Apples, starfruit, orange slice and mango pugmark.

Main compartment: Curry-flavoured wraps filled with Ikea veggieballs scrambled with vegan sambal belacan. Nori stripes affixed to wraps using dabs of palm oil-free organic peanut butter.)

 

July 29 was International Tiger Day.

 

Here are a few things we can do to protect tigers and stop wildlife crimes:

 

1. Do not consume or purchase wildlife or wildlife products.

Deer and wild boars are the favoured prey of tigers. Consuming these species means less food for wild tigers and increased risk of human-tiger conflict.

 

2. Stay away from tourist attractions that exploit wildlife.

'Tiger selfies' encourage the speed-breeding and abuse of tigers.

 

3. Report wildlife crimes (in Malaysia) to the 24-hour Wildlife Crime Hotline at 019 356 4194.

 

4. Learn more about tiger conservation work in Malaysia and sign the petition at https://www.change.org/p/no-more-dead-tigers/u/16361189.

The Weekend I Put On A Tiger Show...

We (i.e. Malaysian Nature Society Selangor Branch) haven't had Open Day celebrations for a year or so now due to logistics and funding issues. It's all very well to show up on the day itself and help man a booth for 4 hours and then pat oneself on the back for having 'helped', but the preparations leading up to the day itself is like a massive full-time job. Canopies, tables, chairs and pickup trucks would have to be rented, volunteers registered, food ordered, sponsors sought, announcements made and official approval sought from the local authorities.

 

 

This year, we were fortunate to have been offered a venue by Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam, more popularly known as Bukit Cherakah, a recreational park managed by the Ministry of Agriculture. It was decided that we would have our MNS Open Day and World Environment Day celebrations at the park on the 5th of June.

 

 

 

We were initially offered the use of Camar Rimba, a forested area within the park, but fellow event coordinator George and I determined that the location was a bit too far from the popular trails and we would face difficulty attracting visitors. Optimistic about a partnership with the Malaysian Nature Society, the park managers then very kindly offered us the use of the Visitors' Centre / event hall for the booths. Activities such as nature walks, birdwatching walk and Green Living's Eco-IQ Hunt could then take place in Camar Rimba.

 

 

 

Announcements were duly made, visitors invited, activities planned and preparations finalised. Green Living is lucky to have the assistance of our committee members, Shannon, Jack, Zhang En, Zhang Hui, Angela and Rudhra. We set up our usual games and educational activities at our booth, and added two new games.

 

 

 

Things didn't seem promising at first but by midmorning, we had a steady stream of visitors, and we raised more funds than we had originally anticipated. We managed to reach out to many members of the public, including families and youths who had visited the park to ride their bikes or do the Skytrex treetop adventure course, and we talked to them about issues such as energy and fuel efficiency, the 3Rs of waste management, and habitat conservation.

 

Seeing that there were many visitors walking past the Visitors' Centre or waiting for trams at the nearby tram stop, I offered to put on MYCAT's tiger costume to attract visitors. Once the visitors approached me to have their photos taken, I would urge them to sign MYCAT's "No More Dead Tigers" petition and attend the MNS Open Day inside the Visitors' Centre. This worked remarkably well, and so I endured 15 minutes of sweating and suffocating within the heavy and unwieldy suit every hour to bring in visitors and raise awareness.

 

 

 

What's new, Pussycat?

 

 

Feeling hot, hot, hot.

 

Thank you for not pulling my tail.

 

 

My ears flopped up and down each time I danced or did my jaunty tiger walk.

This will henceforth be known as the weekend I put on a tiger show. Rawr.

 

Please sign the No More Dead Tigers petition here to support the cause of wildlife conservation and environmental justice! Thank you.