FWD:

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July 16, 2005

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Sunday July 10, 2005

Seberang Prai cats and dogs to be

tagged

BUKIT MERTAJAM: All cats and dogs in Seberang Prai must be tagged from next

month to reduce the population of strays in the municipality.

Seberang Prai & #146;s Society of Prevention for Cruelty to Animal (SPCA)

chairman Dr Roland Lim said a microchip containing a serial number would be

inserted into the neck of pets using a needle.

& #147;The Seberang Prai Municipal Council is the first local authority to

implement the system, & #148; he said yesterday.

He said the council would provide the microchip made in the United States for

free.

& #147;To have the microchip inserted, pet owners must send them to the SPCA to

be spayed or castrated, & #148; Dr Lim said.

He added that a scanner was needed to read the serial number in the microchip.

& #147;If the pet gets stolen or dumped indiscriminately, the serial number will

help track down its owner, & #148; he said.

On another matter, Dr Lim said the SPCA (Penang) Seberang Prai branch would be

organising an education camp on Aug 20 at Bukit Mertajam Country Club for

children aged between 10 and 15.

& #147;Veterinarians and breeders will give talks on how to take care of dogs,

cats, snakes and rabbits, & #148; he said.

Closing date for registration is Aug 15.

For details, call Dr Lim at 04-539 4998 or 012-466 3737.

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July 16, 2005

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Tuesday July 12, 2005

Plan to restrict entry of Indonesian

logs

BY STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: A proposal has been drawn up to curb the entry of illegal Indonesian

timber into Malaysia.

Under a plan by the Plantation Enterprises and Commodities Ministry, only some

government-designated ports in the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak would be allowed

to handle the import of sawn logs from Indonesian provinces.

Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui explained yesterday that the move was to

protect Malaysia & #146;s timber industry, which had become a constant target of

criticism from environmentalists who accuse the country of sourcing illegally

harvested timber from Indonesia.

& #147;The ministry has proposed that stricter control of the import of

Indonesian logs be enforced nationwide to regulate the entry of their logs into

our states.

& #147;We (the ministry) have proposed to the Indonesian Government to export

their logs to Malaysia through only a few designated ports in their country so

that both sides will be able to monitor and track the movement of timber.

& #147;We have proposed that a Memorandum of Understanding be signed with our

Indonesian counterparts on this soon.

& #147;The Cabinet has agreed to this proposal and a copy has been forwarded to

Indonesia & #039;s Attorney-General. We are awaiting a response, & #039; & #039; he

added in an interview.

Chin said, currently, the entry of Indonesian logs into Malaysia was difficult

to & #147;govern and monitor & #148; as there were too many entry points.

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July 18, 2005

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July 19, 2005

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focus

By HILARY CHIEW

ASIAN elephants are increasingly finding themselves the unwelcome guests at cash

crop plantations, particularly that of oil palm.

The series of Borneo pygmy elephant slayings in Sabah in the last eight months

has been linked to ‘vengeance killing.?

Killing of the biggest terrestrial mammal is illegal in Sabah and Peninsular

Malaysia. There are no elephants in Sarawak.

Studies show that habitat loss is the single most important cause for the

decline of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). Since the 1970s, elephant

habitats have been encroached upon and fragmented as national development

programmes failed to consider the impact of logging and land conversion on

wildlife.

The poaching of elephants globally prompted the international wildlife treaty,

the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to pass a

resolution in 1997 for monitoring African and Asian elephants in their entire

range.

The system called Monitoring of the Illegal Killings of Elephant (MIKE) was

launched two years later in Africa, where slaughtering of the pachyderm had

reached crisis proportion.

MIKE now runs in 29 countries in Africa and the South Asia range states ?India,

Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The US-based Wildlife Conservation

Society (WCS) is spearheading the programme in Asia with the co-operation of the

respective national agencies for wildlife.

Asian elephants formerly ranged over 9 million sq km, from West Asia to the

Indian subcontinent, South-East Asia and China. They are now extinct in West

Asia, Java and most of China but occur in isolated populations across 13 Asian

range states.

To facilitate accurate data collection, wildlife rangers have to be

familiarised with the MIKE methodology. WCS regional advisor Dr Antony Lynam and

CITES-MIKE support officer Dr David Lawson spent five days in mid-June at the

Krau Wildlife Reserve in Pahang, imparting technical skills to 20 field staff of

the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan).

Lynam said Malaysia has picked Taman Negara and Endau-Rompin National Park as

the two MIKE sites. Both are believed to support relatively healthy elephant

populations.

He added that Sabah, with the discovery of its distinct elephant subspecies, is

a potential MIKE site but recent reports of killings were not supported by good

monitoring.

“With MIKE we try to quantify mortality (natural or killing) in a systematic

and unbiased manner,?he said in reference to unofficial information that Asian

elephants are increasingly targeted for their tusks.

Besides providing a better understanding of the levels and trends in illegal

hunting, the monitoring system can yield much-needed knowledge on the animal’s

population.

Perhilitan’s elephant unit chief, Nasharuddin Othman agreed that MIKE could go

a long way to enhance conservation strategies for the elephant.

July 19, 2005

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Tuesday July 19, 2005

Out of Africa

DR DAVID Lawson has enough elephant tales to last a lifetime from his 17 years’

working with wildlife in Africa.

“They’re bright creatures. We keep improving our methods but most of the time

they outwit us,” he said, referring to the many mitigation measures applied by

wildlife authorities in the continent to overcome conflicts between the animal

and humans.

One incident at the Tembe Elephant Reserve, north of South Africa, convinced

him of the animal’s intelligence. “We watched three of them walk up to the fence

– two bulls and one young. They stopped a few feet from the fence. Then, all of

a sudden, the bulls used their hips to shove the young one into the fence. Next

thing you know, the bulls have knocked down the fence and had walked straight

through.”

The animals, he said, knew that the voltage on the electric fence was not high

enough to kill. The challenge, said the wildlife biologist, was to keep

improving on the design and “stay one step ahead of them.”

After migrating to Australia eight years ago where the only elephant he could

watch was at the zoo, Lawson recently found himself facing up to the great beast

again. He is the sub-regional support officer for a global programme called

Monitoring of the Illegal Killing of Elephant (MIKE).

Based in Bangkok, Thailand, Lawson last year started implementing the progamme

in eight South-East Asia elephant range states.

Born in the industrial Midlands of England, Lawson excelled in biology and

pursued wildlife studies at tertiary level. He left England to become a

scientific assistant at the Royal Society Aldabra Research Station in Seychelles

in 1978. From 1980 to 1986, he studied for his doctorate at the Institute of

Natural Resources in Pietermaritzburg in South Africa.

In South Africa, Lawson became deeply involved in wildlife management,

including game capture, training, teaching rangers on wildlife biology and

dealing with conflict situations.

“Game capture was almost routine as it is the typical management tool in South

Africa to capture and relocate rhinos, antelopes and lions,” said the

51-year-old father of three.

Run-ins with armed poachers were common occurrences. “As the wildlife

management team works closely with the anti-poaching unit, we got into some of

the action. The poachers are military-trained and it is tough keeping up with

them,” he added.

His skills were put to good use in Botswana where he lived from 1989 to 1997.

His expertise was also sought by neighbouring Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Aside from trapping animals and nabbing poachers, wildlife management has its

fair share of difficult moments. It requires quick thinking when dealing with a

wounded beast, relocating animals and facing angry villagers.

“Sometimes, moving a live animal is as good as condemning it to death. For

example, moving a lion that is a territorial animal into a new area can

inadvertently create a new conflict (with other lions). My job is to equip

people with the best knowledge possible so they can make an informed decision.

The worst thing is to make no decision at all,” said Lawson.

Though he loves animals, the socio-economic reality of Africa makes him a

supporter of sustainable-use. “I see no problem in using natural resources. The

challenge is finding the balance,” he said.

Throughout his years in Africa, Lawson never failed to be impressed by rangers

who doggedly protect wildlife with the little resources that they have.

“I do what I do because I believe it counts. We have a responsibility to these

magnificent animals that they don’t die on our watch. So, it’s important to

support and appreciate what these people do,” he said. – By HILARY CHIEW

Related stories:

<a

href= " http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/7/19/lifefocus/112703\

61 & sec=lifefocus " >Monitoring elephants in Malaysia</a>

<a

href= " http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/7/19/lifefocus/113780\

17 & sec=lifefocus " >Tagging pygmy elephants</a>

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July 19, 2005

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Tuesday July 19, 2005

Monitoring elephants in Malaysia

By HILARY CHIEW

ASIAN elephants are increasingly finding themselves the unwelcome guests at cash

crop plantations, particularly that of oil palm.

The series of Borneo pygmy elephant slayings in Sabah in the last eight months

has been linked to ‘vengeance killing.’

Killing of the biggest terrestrial mammal is illegal in Sabah and Peninsular

Malaysia. There are no elephants in Sarawak.

Studies show that habitat loss is the single most important cause for the

decline of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). Since the 1970s, elephant

habitats have been encroached upon and fragmented as national development

programmes failed to consider the impact of logging and land conversion on

wildlife.

The poaching of elephants globally prompted the international wildlife treaty,

the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to pass a

resolution in 1997 for monitoring African and Asian elephants in their entire

range.

The system called Monitoring of the Illegal Killings of Elephant (MIKE) was

launched two years later in Africa, where slaughtering of the pachyderm had

reached crisis proportion.

MIKE now runs in 29 countries in Africa and the South Asia range states –

India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The US-based Wildlife

Conservation Society (WCS) is spearheading the programme in Asia with the

co-operation of the respective national agencies for wildlife.

Asian elephants formerly ranged over 9 million sq km, from West Asia to the

Indian subcontinent, South-East Asia and China. They are now extinct in West

Asia, Java and most of China but occur in isolated populations across 13 Asian

range states.

To facilitate accurate data collection, wildlife rangers have to be

familiarised with the MIKE methodology. WCS regional advisor Dr Antony Lynam and

CITES-MIKE support officer Dr David Lawson spent five days in mid-June at the

Krau Wildlife Reserve in Pahang, imparting technical skills to 20 field staff of

the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan).

Lynam said Malaysia has picked Taman Negara and Endau-Rompin National Park as

the two MIKE sites. Both are believed to support relatively healthy elephant

populations.

He added that Sabah, with the discovery of its distinct elephant subspecies, is

a potential MIKE site but recent reports of killings were not supported by good

monitoring.

“With MIKE we try to quantify mortality (natural or killing) in a systematic

and unbiased manner,” he said in reference to unofficial information that Asian

elephants are increasingly targeted for their tusks.

Besides providing a better understanding of the levels and trends in illegal

hunting, the monitoring system can yield much-needed knowledge on the animal’s

population.

Perhilitan’s elephant unit chief, Nasharuddin Othman agreed that MIKE could go

a long way to enhance conservation strategies for the elephant.

Related stories:

<a

href= " http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/7/19/lifefocus/113555\

00 & sec=lifefocus " >Out of Africa</a>

<a

href= " http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/7/19/lifefocus/113780\

17 & sec=lifefocus " >Tagging pygmy elephants</a>

________________________

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July 19, 2005

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Tuesday July 19, 2005

More dog trainers

I REFER to your report Microchip plan for dogs in Subang Jaya (The Star, July

1). The idea by the Subang Jaya municipality (MPSJ) to microchip dogs is a good

one. Such a move will greatly help the local authorities to deal more

effectively with the problem of errant, lost or stray canines.

This will also make it easier for the MPSJ to bring to book irresponsible

owners.

However, one needs to exercise caution over the possibility of our local

municipalities deciding to allow only one animal organisation to be involved in

the training of all new dogs as a prerequisite to obtaining the yearly licences

from MPSJ.

The MPSJ’s serious thoughts about engaging the Malaysian Kennel Association to

be the sole organisation to train dogs under its municipality may not be the

best solution. The MKA may be the official national organisation for the

registration of purebred dogs but it is not the only group that trains dogs.

There are other dog trainers and perhaps lesser known establishments which are

also skilled in working with canines.

Many of these trainers utilise different modes of canine obedience training and

come up with innovative ways to help pets and their owners to understand each

other better. Inviting more organisations to get involved will prevent any one

group from trying to monopolise the training for its own benefit.

Not every dog owner will have the time or opportunity to take their pets to a

group obedience class that is normally held once a week with dozens of other

dogs which might be barking or snapping at each other. This can be stressful for

pets.

Some owners might prefer to have classes in a less stressful environment, for

example, in their own homes. Here is where independent dog trainers play a key

role. Not all dogs are easily trained. And no one method of training works for

all dogs.

Thus the diversity of dog trainers and their various styles of training would

be a boon to any municipality embarking on a dog training drive.

Dog Sense, Petaling Jaya

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July 20, 2005

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MY - SPCA's youth club division

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