Wednesday December 9, 2009

New homes for condo pets

By CHRISTINA TAN 

SHAH ALAM: The young Malayan honey bear which was rescued from a cage in a condominium on Friday has been sent to the Malacca Zoo.

Two other wild animals rescued from the condominium — a slow loris and a leopard cat — have been sent to Selangor Wildlife and Natio­nal Parks animal conservation centre in Paya Indah Wetlands and the Sungai Dusun Wildlife Reserve Fo­rest in Hulu Selangor, respec­tively.

According to Abdul Jalal Kassim, an official with the department, the animals were transferred to their new homes on Monday after a court order was obtained.

On the same day, he said, a man believed to be the owner of the animals surrendered to the department.

The 29-year-old man was accompanied by the woman who was earlier arrested at the condominium for keeping the wild animals.

Officials recorded his statement before releasing him.

On Friday, the 25-year-old hotel worker was arrested for keeping the three animals, classified as endangered species, in the condominium unit in Desa Pandan which was occupied by her and her male relative.

She was released on bail after her statement was recorded.

The man was not in the condominium when the place was raided.

The animals were believed to have been bought from orang asli in Negri Sembilan and kept as pets in the condominium.

The two could be charged under Section 64(2)(a) of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, which carries a fine of up to RM3,000 or a jail sentence of up to two years, or both.

The bear can fetch a price of RM5,000 on the local market while the slow loris and the big cat are worth about RM500 each.

 http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/12/9/nation/5263636&sec=nation

Published: Monday December 7, 2009 MYT 12:37:00 PM
Updated: Monday December 7, 2009 MYT 3:30:34 PM

Woman found rearing wildlife in condominium

BY CHRISTINA TAN

SHAH ALAM: A 25-year-old hotel worker was arrested for keeping a baby Honey Bear, a Leopard Cat and a Slow Loris in a condominium unit in Desa Pandan, Kuala Lumpur.

All the animals, which are endangered species, were found in individual cages in the unit, where the woman was living with her male relative.

The woman has since been released on bail untill Dec 29 after giving her statement.

The animals were found during a raid carried out on Friday evening by the enforcement officers from the Selangor Wildlife Department following a public tip-off.

Department deputy director Mohammad Khairi Ahmad said they were now looking for the woman’s male relative, who is in his 30s, to help the department in its investigation.

He said only the woman and the animals were in the house when enforcement officers arrived.

Initial investigation showed the animals could have been bought from orang asli in Negri Sembilan and kept as a pet in the condominium in the past three months, he told a press conference here on Monday.

Khairi said the baby bear could be sold for about RM5,000 while the cat and the slow loris was worth about RM500 each in the market.

He warned that the public not to keep or buy wildlife as it was against the law.

“This case is only the tip of the iceberg and we believe there are many out there who are having wild animals as pets in their home.

“This is not the way to love the wildlife. They belonged to the wild,” he added.

Khairi also said usually, a hunter would have to kill the mother of a cub before he could take away the animal, which was a cruel act.

He added that the department would get a court order to send the animals to the Malacca Zoo or released them back to the wild.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/12/7/nation/20091207123942&sec=nation

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Bela beruang di kondo

SHAH ALAM 7 Dis. – Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara (Perhilitan) Selangor merampas beruang matahari, kongkang dan kucing batu yang dipelihara seorang lelaki dalam serbuan di sebuah kondominium di Desa Pandan, Kuala Lumpur dekat sini Jumaat lalu.

Bagaimanapun ketika serbuan kira-kira 7.30 malam itu, lelaki warga tempatan yang memelihara ketiga-tiga binatang liar yang merupakan spesies dilindungi itu tiada di kediamannya.

Sehubungan itu, pihak Perhilitan menahan seorang wanita berusia 25 tahun yang turut tinggal di kondominium tersebut dan mengaku sebagai saudara suspek bagi membantu siasatan.

Timbalan Pengarah Perhilitan Selangor, Mohammad Khairi Ahmad berkata, serbuan yang dilakukan oleh empat anggotanya itu dibuat hasil maklumat orang awam.

Beliau berkata, siasatan awal mendapati kesemua binatang liar yang dipelihara suspek dibeli daripada Orang Asli di Negeri Sembilan sejak tiga bulan lalu.

Menurut beliau, kongkang dan kucing batu dipercayai dibeli dengan harga RM500 seekor sementara beruang matahari pula RM5,000.

”Kita percaya suspek yang berusia 30-an membeli binatang liar itu untuk dibela.

”Oleh kerana suspek gagal dikesan semasa serbuan, kita menahan wanita di kondominium tersebut ketika itu bagi membantu siasatan.

”Bagaimanapun selepas diambil keterangan wanita itu dibebaskan dengan jaminan dan akan dipanggil semula pada 29 Disember ini di Mahkamah Ampang untuk tujuan pendakwaan,” kata beliau kepada pemberita di pejabat Perhilitan Selangor, di sini hari ini.

Menurut Mohammad Khairi, pihaknya masih mencari suspek sebenar yang memelihara kesemua binatang tersebut dan memintanya menyerah diri.

Ujar beliau, suspek akan didakwa di bawah Seksyen 64(2)(a) Akta Perlindungan Hidupan Liar 1972 (Akta 76) dan jika sabit kesalahan denda maksimum tidak melebihi RM3,000 atau dipenjara tidak melebihi dua tahun atau kedua-duanya.

Tambah beliau, Perhilitan akan mendapatkan perintah mahkamah bagi menentukan sama ada binatang-binatang tersebut akan dilepaskan ke habitat asalnya ataupun dihantar ke zoo.

http://utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=1208&pub=utusan_malaysia&sec=Jenayah&pg=je_04.htm&arc=hive