MY - endangered sunbear dies

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Wednesday April 9, 2008 - The Star

Endangered sun bear dies

BY STEPHEN THEN

stephenthen

 

MIRI: An endangered sun bear died from neglect after it was locked up

for months inside a small iron cage and used as a showpiece to attract

visitors in a private farm on the Miri-Bintulu Second Coastal Highway.

 

It died after its owner hid it inside a forest away from public view

after a group of expatriates, disgusted with the way the creature was

treated, complained to the owner and the authorities.

 

" The sun bear was kept continuously inside the cage where it died

recently, " said a worker at the farm, located at Jalan Bakam, next to

the National Service Training Camp.

 

 

Cruel condition: The sun bear was kept in a cage and was used as a

showpiece to attract visitors to a private farm near

 

Miri Wildlife Department enforcement chief Abang Arabi Abang Imran

said yesterday the owner was unable to give a satisfactory explanation

on the sun bear which was missing from the farm.

 

Asked why it took six months for his department to investigate this

case after the first complaints were lodged, Arabi said: " I told my

enforcement people to handle the case immediately. I must find out why

the bear was not rescued. "

 

The Star highlighted this case last Aug 11 after South African

expatriate Tweet Gainsborough, whose husband was working for an oil

and gas giant here in Miri, alerted the newspaper.

 

The conditions enraged expatriates and animal lovers who visited the

farm located near Sungai Rait in the southern part of Miri district on

the way to Bintulu, 30km from Miri City.

 

The non-aggressive sun bear is the smallest in the bear family and is

classified as an endangered and protected species.

 

Gainsborough lodged many complaints with the farm manager, the Miri

Wildlife Department, the Miri City Council and the Sarawak Forestry

Department.

 

Arabi confirmed that the private farm did not have a permit to keep the animal.