Smugglers’ boatload of wildlife
2009/09/14
ROMPIN: Marine police foiled an attempt to smuggle out about 12 tonnes of exotic animals using a fishing boat in Tanjung Gemuk near here on Saturday.
Two suspects, in their 40s and 50s, were arrested while they were busy transferring 18 boxes containing live and dead animals from a lorry onto a boat at an old jetty about 3am. Among the animals and their parts seized were sunbear, monitor lizards and owls.
Marine police Region 3 Operation division head Deputy Superintendent Mohd Hassan Hasyim said investigations showed the suspects had brought the exotic animals from Tanjung Malim.
“They planned to load the animals into the fishing boat before transferring the consignment into another vessel at sea.
“We believe that the animals were destined for a neighbouring country to be sold at restaurants there,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
Hassan said it was the first of such case this year and the Marine police would hand over the seized animals and parts to the Wildlife and National Parks Department.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/6bear/Article/index_html
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Wong’s notes: There is no doubt that wildlife smuggling in Malaysia is on the rise. Each of the wildlife smuggling that police seized represent a tip of an iceberg. If immediate and effective actions to stop wildlife poaching and smuggling are not taken soon, the rainforest in Malaysia will soon join the list of “empty forests syndrome.”
Empty Forest Syndrome?
Read more about it at http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0118-hance_hunting.html
Here is what was written by WCS about the bushmeat crisis in Congo Basin, Africa.:
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Empty Forest Syndrome
Hunting can still be sustain able where human population density is low, and where law enforcement authorities, or other management systems, control the quantity of meat exported to urban areas.However, as industrial activities such as logging open up previously inaccessible areas of the forest through the construction of roads, and population density grows in logging villages and urban centers, the demand for bushmeat increases, making sustainable exploitation of wildlife nearly impossible. This not only threatens wildlife populations but also the livelihoods and food security of the traditional peoples that depend on them.
Although deforestation poses a significant threat to the survival of the forested landscapes in the Congo Basin, many scientists are now agreed that it is the bushmeat trade that is the greatest threat to the ecosystem. Not only does unsustainable hunting leave the forest empty of wildlife, but the plant-animal interactions that facilitate forest regeneration and maintenance are lost.
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Wong’s notes: Interestingly, the situation described above sound familiar to what I saw in Borneo and other part Malaysia and Indonesia. Ironically the authority in Malaysia always denies and shies away from the topic of wildlife poaching and smuggling. IF in the future when we hear less on the news reports on the wildlife poaching and smuggling, perhaps it is not because of the authority has done a good job to prevent such crime from happening, but the wildlife population in the country has been wiped out to the brinks of extinction. I hope I am wrong.
——————————————————————-http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20090811211703/Article/index_html
Malaysia Ministry denies allegation of wildlife smuggling
2009/08/11
MARAN, Tues: Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup has denied allegations that Malaysia is the world’s largest wildlife smuggling centre. He said the government would not compromise on the smuggling of wildlife and had taken stern action against culprits who committed such offences.
“We admit that such an activity exists, but we always take stern action against the culprits,” he told reporters after launching the Rakan Alam Sekitar campaign here today.
He was commenting on a recent report in an English daily that Malaysia had become the world’s largest wildlife smuggling centre.
Kurup said amendments to the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 were being drafted to provide heavier penalties against those who committed offences related to wildlife and national parks. — BERNAMA
Ugh. Wasn’t sure I wanted to read this as the title was so depressing. Is that really 26,455 pounds of poached wildlife? the mind boggles. I’m glad the police made an arrest, but what about the punishment? It seems poachers just about everywhere get off with fines or light sentences.
s.
Hi Sheryl,
This is what was pulished on the news:
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/19kurnews/Article/index_html
We still have to wait for a long for this new law to be past and implimented.
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Wildlife to bite back
2009/07/19
By Aniza Damis
KUALA LUMPUR: Poachers and illegal traders in wildlife may soon find more than just the wildlife biting back.
A new law to replace the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 will protect more species of wildlife and allow for significantly heavier penalties for serious offences.
The present law has not been amended, either in offence or penalty, since 1988.
Under the proposed new law, a person found guilty of shooting, killing or being in possession of a most endangered wild animal or parts would be fined a minimum of RM100,000 and up to a maximum RM500,000, coupled with a mandatory jail term of not more than five years.
Under the proposed new law, a person found guilty of shooting, killing or being in possession of a most endangered wild animal or parts would be fined a minimum of RM100,000 and up to a maximum RM500,000, coupled with a mandatory jail term of not more than five years.
Under the present law, that person could elicit only a maximum penalty of RM15,000 or a jail term of not more than five years, or both.
At least 13 new provisions are being suggested, including the requirement for a special permit to import or exhibit totally protected wildlife, to own or run a zoo, breed wildlife in captivity, and to research or conduct a study on protected wildlife.
It will also be an offence to sell any product that contains derivatives.
Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, speaking to the New Sunday Times, said in the proposed plans, the present act would be amended significantly.
However, he said the ultimate plan was to rescind the old act and enact a new one.
The proposed bill is with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, before being tabled in Parliament, possibly as early as in the third sitting at year-end.
Kurup said the definition of “wildlife” would be expanded to include all life forms, except fish and marine life, which come under the purview of the Fisheries Act 1985.
“At the moment, our act only covers mammals, reptiles and insects. In future, we hope to cover much more, including arachnids, molluscs and amphibia.”
And while the present act only lists three animals — Sumatran rhino (badak kerbau), tiger (harimau belang), and clouded leopard (harimau dahan) — as being “most endangered”, the proposed new law adds three more: the serow (kambing gurun), gaur (seladang) and Javan rhino (badak raya).
Under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List — a global list of the conservation status of plants and animals — these six animals range in status from vulnerable (clouded leopard, serow, gaur), to endangered (tiger), to critically endangered (Sumatran rhino, Javan rhino).
The penalty for setting or possessing a trap will also be more severe, with the fine raised 20-fold to RM100,000.
And the possession in large quantities of pangolins, for instance, is deemed to indicate an intent to trade the wildlife. So, the crime will be punished with a minimum fine of RM50,000 up to RM100,000 and a mandatory jail term of not more than three years.
Finally, the elephant, which in the current act is considered a game animal, will be re-listed as a totally protected animal.
“We have improved this act. I know the non-governmental organisations worry but whatever their concerns we have addressed them,” Kurup said.
Call for task force to curb poachers, wildlife trade
2009/08/28
KUALA LUMPUR: In the battle against poachers and the illegal wildlife trade, two non-governmental organisations have called on the government to set up a task force to stamp out the activities.
With the recent arrest of a Thai poacher in the Belum-Temengor forest complex in Perak on Sunday, WWF Malaysia and Traffic feel that a well-coordinated effort between the enforcement agencies is needed to fight the menace.
WWF Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma said the police, Wildlife and National Parks Department and WWF’s Wildlife Protection Unit (WPU) are doing a good job, but a greater commitment is needed.
“Stopping armed poachers is dangerous and difficult work that needs the support of many agencies.
“I urge the government to form a task force, comprising additional enforcement agencies such as the army, Immigration, Customs and forestry departments and the Perak State Parks Corporation to join the fight to stamp out poaching and cross-border encroachment,” he said recently.
Traffic Southeast Asia’s Chris R. Shepherd said there must also be a move towards more intelligence-led investigations to smoke out the masterminds and backers of poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
“Ridding the forests of poachers is an on-going and important task, but it is essential to remove the main culprits behind the scene — the big dealers running the show,” he said.
The Thai poacher from Chiang Rai was among five poachers ambushed by police at their camp site where 30kg of rice and other essentials were stocked, indicating they were planning a long-term operation.
Wildlife Dept seizes pangolins in Malaysia
2009/09/09
KOTA BARU: Nearly 100 live pangolins were saved from the cooking pots in Thailand by the state Wildlife Department on Monday.
The 93 pangolins, packed in individual plastic boxes and worth about RM70,000, were seized around noon in Kampung Cherang, Bachok.
The department had received a tip-off, said director Pazil Abdul Patah, and an enforcement team found a man loading the pangolins into a car. But he took off on foot when he spotted the officers.
The animals weighed three to 12kg each, and with restaurants in Thailand paying RM150 per kg, the suspect would have made a tidy profit. Pazil said the seizure was the biggest made so far this year. The animals will soon be released in a national park.
Pangolins are protected under the Wildlife Act, but their meat is considered a delicacy.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/19WOMN/Article/index_html
WILDLIFE SMUGGLING: MACC should look into case
2009/08/24
S.M. MOHD IDRIS President Sahabat Alam Malaysia
NEWS of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry’s review of a former wildlife trafficker’s special permits and licences as well as a probe into a high-ranking officer is most welcome.
Action to conduct an investigation is long overdue as investigations should have been initiated at the very beginning with the publication of the book by author Bryan Christie.
It is a shocking revelation of what goes on behind the smuggling scene and the involvement of a Malaysian wildlife smuggler operating under the nose of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
Evidence from the book revealed a close nexus between wildlife smugglers and certain government officials.
Such large-scale operations would not have been possible without the smuggler taking advantage of loopholes in wildlife law and without the assistance of someone in authority.
What is mind-boggling is the department’s immediate response in defence of the notorious wildlife smuggler after the book was published and now the latest response from the director-general dismissing the report as a “story from the past”.
With the surfacing of this issue, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) is relieved that the ministry had at last taken a serious view of the issuance of special permits which was ignored in the past.
SAM is genuinely concerned over the increasing number of endangered and totally protected animals that are found in theme parks, resorts and those kept by private individuals under “special permits”.
The Bengal tigers kept previously at the Bukit Jambul Hibiscus farm is an example. These have drawn considerable attention in the past and it is of utmost importance to know where these tigers originated from and whether they were legally sourced.
The ministry and the department are not a business corporation servicing those exploiting our wildlife resources; rather their mandate is to protect endangered and threatened species.
SAM urges the ministry to conduct an in-depth investigation of the wildlife official implicated in the case. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should also probe into the findings as revealed in the book.
Call for task force to curb poachers, wildlife trade
2009/08/28
KUALA LUMPUR: In the battle against poachers and the illegal wildlife trade, two non-governmental organisations have called on the government to set up a task force to stamp out the activities.
With the recent arrest of a Thai poacher in the Belum-Temengor forest complex in Perak on Sunday, WWF Malaysia and Traffic feel that a well-coordinated effort between the enforcement agencies is needed to fight the menace.
WWF Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma said the police, Wildlife and National Parks Department and WWF’s Wildlife Protection Unit (WPU) are doing a good job, but a greater commitment is needed.
“Stopping armed poachers is dangerous and difficult work that needs the support of many agencies.
“I urge the government to form a task force, comprising additional enforcement agencies such as the army, Immigration, Customs and forestry departments and the Perak State Parks Corporation to join the fight to stamp out poaching and cross-border encroachment,” he said recently.
Traffic Southeast Asia’s Chris R. Shepherd said there must also be a move towards more intelligence-led investigations to smoke out the masterminds and backers of poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
“Ridding the forests of poachers is an on-go9ng and important task, but it is essential to remove the main culprits behind the scene — the big dealers running the show,” he said.
The Thai poacher from Chiang Rai was among five poachers ambushed by police at their camp site where 30kg of rice and other essentials were stocked, indicating they were planning a long-term operation.;