(MY) tough war by Wildlife department

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Friday April 18, 2008 - The Star

Wildlife Department declares 'war'

 

By IZATUN SHARI

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Those who trespass into national parks and forest

reserves will face tougher action from the Wildlife and National Parks

Department as it combats poaching and smuggling of endangered animals

and plant species.

 

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas

said the department, with assistance from the army, would step up law

enforcement efforts to curb trespassing.

 

He said that between 2001 and 2007, there were 3,593 reported cases of

trespassing, poaching and smuggling of endangered species of animals

and plants out of national parks and forest reserves.

 

Of this total, Unggah said 83 cases had led to trespassers being

arrested within those six years. Only three cases, involving nine

people, were recorded last year.

 

Action was taken against the trespassers following tip-offs from the public.

 

" Most of the trespassers are foreigners. It is not easy to track down

these trespassers. We are grateful to the army for assisting us in

controlling such activities.

 

" We hope the public will also support us in protecting the wildlife

plant and animal species, " he said after his working visit to the

Wildlife and National Parks Department headquarters here yesterday.

 

" For instance, trespassers have stolen gaharu (agar wood), a valuable

plant, which grows all over the forests in our country. A kilo of the

plant, which is used for the perfumery industry, can fetch a few

thousand ringgit in the market. "

 

Unggah said the department would upgrade the facilities at all

national parks following the success of its eco-tourism project which

attracted 590,000 tourists as of last year.

 

" The national parks are required to upgrade their facilities to make

them more attractive to tourists, " he said, adding that Taman Negara

was the most popular, having drawn 82,000 tourists last year.

 

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Friday April 18, 2008 _ The Star

 

Monkeys rescued from farm

 

By STEPHEN THEN

 

MIRI: Enforcement officers from the Sarawak Forestry Corporation have

rescued protected monkeys held captive at a private farm here where an

endangered sun bear died recently.

 

This is second time in two weeks that the farm has been raided

following public outcry over the death of the sun bear that had been

caged up for months.

 

The enforcement team is still at the farm – which is the size of 400

football fields – to determine if there are any other wildlife being

kept illegally.

 

The private farm has been keeping sun bears, monkeys and other

wildlife as tourist attractions for the past few years.

 

On Aug 11 last year, a South African expatriate lodged complaints with

the Wildlife Department, Forestry Corporation and city council after

finding the sun bear being kept in miserable condition.

 

Forestry director Datuk Len Talif Salleh yesterday confirmed the

second raid and said the enforcement team had also lodged a police

report.

 

" We are still carrying out ground investigations at the farm. We have

to keep the raid confidential so as not to jeopardise our operation.

 

" We will find out what is actually going on and determine what sort of

action to take, " he said in a telephone interview from Kuching.

 

Len Talif said the Forestry Corporation was going all out to tackle

the abuse of wildlife and endangered animals through a restructuring

of the organisation.