(MY) animal poachers and terrapins nesting site

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Animal poachers, beware! Stiffer penalties proposed in amendment to Act

June Ramli

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25

--

Elephant poachers will face a jail term, caning and a RM150,000 fine

under new legislation being drafted.

 

Natural Resources and Environment Ministry Parliamentary Secretary

Datuk Sazmi Miah said the Wildlife and Conservation Bill 2006, to be

tabled in Parliament in June, is aimed at stringent enforcement to

protect the 1,200 to 1,500 pachyderms left in the wild.

 

" At present those found killing a tiger are fined up to RM15,000, but

under the new Act, the fine would be increased by 10 times and applied

to all wildlife killed by poachers, " he said after a meeting on

elephant conservation today, attended by representatives of 13

countries which were home to some 32,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants.

 

The meeting was also attended by representatives from the World

Conservation Union Species Survival Commission, Convention on the

International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and US Fish and

Wildlife Services.

 

Azmi said the proposed Act would also protect the rights of animals in

circuses, displays and exhibitions, which are not covered under the

present Wildlife Act 1972.

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Nesting site for terrapins to be protected

Sean Augustin

 

KUALA TERENGGANU, Jan 25th

--

Finally, freshwater terrapins will get the protection they need to

nest in their natural habitats safe from poachers.

 

In a new five-year project beginning later this month, workers from

the Terengganu Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) and

Kolej Universiti Sains Malaysia (Kustem) will be guarding terrapin

eggs during the nesting season.

 

The site at Pasir Kumpal in Hulu Terengganu, about 100km upstream of

the Sungai Terengganu estuary, was chosen as a protected nesting

ground for the terrapins.

 

The terrapin is under threat due to over-collection of its eggs.

Although Pasir Kumpal is not a designated sanctuary, the project

should help ensure the area is protected from poachers.

 

Perhilitan workers used to collect the eggs for relocation to a

hatchery. This not only risked damage to the embryos but also created

a gender imbalance.

 

" We lacked manpower to man the terrapin nesting sites around the

clock, " said Perhilitan director Rozidan Md Yasin. " But with Kustem's

co-operation, we hope to overcome such problems. "

 

Last year, Perhilitan collected 780 eggs but only 201 hatched. In

2004, 387 eggs were collected, of which only seven hatched.

 

" Supervision of the Pasir Kumpal nesting site will mini- mise cases of

terrapins being abused by villagers, " Rozidan said.

 

" There's still a lot we do not know about this species. "

 

He said hatchlings would be immediately released into the river, but

some would be raised at Perhilitan's conservation centre in Bukit

Paloh and released later.

 

Should this project yield positive results, Rozidan said a similar

programme would be conducted at three other sites located around Sg

Terengganu and Dungun.

 

Kustem Turtle Research and Rehabilitation department spokesperson Prof

Chan Eng Heng said villagers would sometimes force terrapins to nest

at a particular spot.

 

" They drill a small hole at the edge of the terrapin's carapace,

insert a rope and tie it to a tree.

 

" The terrapin is forced to nest around the tree, making it easier for

villagers to collect the eggs. "

 

Chan said under the long-term project, hatchlings would be tagged with

microchips to monitor their development and nesting behaviour. The

microchips will also serve as identification tags to foil poachers.

 

" We hope to recruit some volunteers to create awareness on the need to

protect freshwater terrapins. We believe terrapins are a barometer of

the health of a riverine ecosystem. "