(MY) johore zoo

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Zoo ignores orders to send orang utan back-New Straits Times30 Jun 2006

Sim Bak Heng <news

 

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*JOHOR BARU: A rare orang utan is caught in the middle of a tussle between

the Johor Zoo and the Wildlife and National Parks Department.

*

The department wants the zoo to surrender the orang utan so that it could

be released into its natural habitat in the Sumatran forest.

 

The zoo has so far ignored the department's request.

 

The orang utan belongs to the " pongo pygmaeus abelii " species, which is

classified as critically endangered under the Convention on International

Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) 1973.

 

Under the convention, it is forbidden to trade in the protected species, and

keepers of such animals are required to send them back to their countries of

origin.

 

It is believed that the disputed orang utan is the only one left of a batch

of seven that were smuggled from the Sumatran forest to Johor. However, it

is not known when or how they ended up here.

 

The six other orang utans are believed to have been sent back to Sumatra

early this year.

 

The Wildlife and National Parks Department is under pressure from

Britain-based Nature Alert Ltd — an organisation dedicated to promoting

public awareness about rainforests — which had accused Malaysia of delaying

attempts to send the orang utan back to Sumatra.

 

A department spokesman said the department had written to the Johor Zoo to

surrender the orang utan, but it had not received any response.

 

Malaysia is among several Southeast Asian countries criticised by

international groups for alleged violation of the Cites convention. The

country is a signatory to the treaty.

 

Criticism was levelled at Malaysia after it was reported that orang utans

caught from their natural habitat were being held captive for commercial

purposes.

 

When contacted, Johor Zoo manager Zakaria Razali claimed the orang utan was

not a new exhibit as it had been with the zoo for over 10 years. He,

however, could not ascertain its exact species and declined to comment

further.

 

A visit to the zoo yesterday showed the orang utan being kept in a small

cement enclosure with an iron gate. Workers said its spacious permanent

enclosure was under repair.