(MY) game hunting in Sabah???

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Game hunting seen as lucrative for Sabah - New Straits Times

 

*15 Jul 2006*

By Roy Goh <roygoh

 

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*KOTA KINABALU: Game hunting can be a lucrative industry in Sabah which has

vast forests teeming with wildlife.

*

The State Wildlife and National Parks Department revealed a plan to set up

designated hunting grounds and former national shooter Lo Vun Vui is all for

the idea.

 

" Obviously there is need for game control and procedures need to be put in

place but if hunting grounds are set up, many hunters from abroad will come

to Sabah and pay good money, " he said.

 

Lo, who is also Sabah Shooting Association vice-president, said the State's

most common wild animal, the bearded pig, would likely be the main target

due to its game trophy value.

 

The bearded pig or sus barbatus, a wild boar found in Malaysia, has a

slender torso and largest head of all pigs. In Sabah, the animal is normally

hunted for its meat. An adult male can weigh up to 150kg.

 

" Hunters collect the wild boar's head as trophy and the animal found in

Sabah has a high value because of its size and tusks, " he said, adding the

trophy value for the local deer or mouse deer was not as high.

 

" Our sambar deer or the barking deer have small antlers and roam in thick

jungles. Professional hunters would prefer those with bigger and longer

antlers found in other countries, " Lo said.

 

Forested areas near plantations are good hunting grounds for wild boar and

the key in locating them is to find their trails and mud wallow, Lo said,

stressing that in Sabah, getting a wild boar was almost guaranteed.

 

" The main setback would be on the strict gun control in the country where it

is hard for outsiders to get a permit to hunt. Also, many professional

hunters pref er to use their own guns, " he said. Hunting is allowed for wild

boar and deer but on a controlled basis where permits are issued by the

department for a fee.

 

The department deputy director Laurentius Ambu said they were working on

identifying suitable locations for hunting grounds, apart from talking with

various quarters to allow such activities.

 

Laurentius had said by setting up designated hunting grounds, poaching may

be curbed as the department would no longer be issuing off-site permits.

 

In the last five years, there have been about 250 cases of illegal hunting

in the State.