logging, letters and elephant health camp

[Guest guest]

Thailand is considering reviving its logging industry to earn funds to

finance the enormous government debt which ballooned during the l997-98

economic crisis, a report said on July 30.

The Nation newspaper said that under the sustainable forestry management

plan, logging would be allowed in plantations run by the state-owned Forest

Industry Organisation (FIO). If it goes ahead, the plan would represent an

end to the nationwide ban on logging imposed in the late l980s after

hundreds of villagers in southern Thailand died during floods and mudslides

caused by deforestation. Environmentalists have said they will

protest loudly against the proposal.

The Nation said the FIO is seeking permission to harvest timber in its

replanted forests, mostly highly valuable golden teak that was planted by

companies in exchange for logging concessions prior to the ban.

It quoted an FIO source as saying the forests were transferred to the

organisation after the ban was imposed, but had never been classified as

'economic forests' which are allowed to be logged commercially. The FIO was

not immediately able to confirm the report.

 

 

Vital to supervise pet shops for sake of man and beast - letter to editor -

Star 8.8.01

 

I refer to the letter, " tighter control on import of pets needed " . It is

heartening to note public attention has been drawn to the unscrupulous

import of pet animals of unquestionable health into Malaysia and its

implications in the spread of animal diseases and human health.

Another area of veterinary public health importance that needs to be

supervised are the pet shops where the pets are sold to the public.

Time and again the small animal clinicians especially from the Klang Valley

have voiced concern about the rampant abuse of vaccine, schedule

pharmaceuticals and other prescription products, eg medicated shampoo, by

laymen at pet shops and breeding farms. Such misuse and abuse can lead to

viral mutation and bacterial resistance to antibiotic which are of public

health and veterinary importance. Further, the unhygienic and insanitary

conditions prevailing in some pet shops cause undue stress and great

discomfort to the animals housed there. In such a situation, the spread of

disease is further enhanced.

Hence it is hoped that the Agriculture Minister would take the necessary

action to supervise these areas in the interest of animal welfare and human

health.

 

 

A plea to please save the weaver - letter to editor. Straits Times of

31.7.01.

 

I was perturbed to read the story about a woman from Pahang selling weaver

birds' nests. Recently, I found no nests hanging from the trees in

Mentakab, Pahang. I believe the woman must have something to do with the

disappearance of the splendid nests. I am horrified to think of what the

nest collectors would do if the nest had eggs or even chicks in them.

Knowing that money clouds people's senses, I'm certain many weaver chicks or

eggs were just discarded or destroyed by these collectors.

Can the Pahang Wildlife Department make the sale of weaver nests illegal? On

second thoughts, this may lead to a black market, making it more lucrative

for the nest collectors. Something must be done before the weaver birds are

threatened by extinction.

 

A letter on shark fin 20.8.01 - Straits Times

 

What a relief. Health Minister recently declared that shark fins sold in

Malaysia is safe for consumption since they do not contain a high level of

mercury, a threat to our eyesight, nervous system and kidneys. He only

cautions us to be wary of imitations.

So go ahead. When you plan the menu for your daughter's wedding banquet, or

your son's graduation, include shark fin soup with confidence. At between

RM80 and RM600 per serving, steaming bowls of shark's fin will gain the host

much " face " and admiration from his guests.

But wait. What's that whimpering and moaning in the background? Relax-it's

only the sound of the many finless sharks sinking to the ocean floor, there

to die slowly and agonisingly. Their corpses litter the sea bed, polluting

the waters where they are caught, resulting in the presence of mercury in

their flesh.

Never mind. Sharks are nasty creatures anyway - look what happened in Jaws.

So let the wine flow and tell the band to play louder so we can slurp in

peace.

Think of your body being " washed by a current of energy " . Don't feel guilty

that Malaysia spent RM1.14 million last year to import sharks' fins. Not to

worry. A leading hotel in the nation's capital is having a shark fin

promotion this month at a bargain price of RM42 per head, a real steal. What

a fitting prelude to the nation's birthday from the international standard

hotel, built to accommodate the many foreign dignitaries coming for the

National Day celebrations.

Don't let your appetite be ruined by the thought that sharks need 15 to 30

years to reach maturity, and that at the current rate they're being

destroyed, these great marine predators face imminent extinction, upsetting

the delicate marine ecology and ultimately the availability of fish for our

tables.

Waiter, bring some more soup. Ignore the party-poopers who say that it has

no nutritional value, that consuming it won't enhance sexual prowess or

lower blood pressure or ward off a host of ills. And when the last spoonful

has been swallowed, what shall we do for a substitute? Chill out. As

caretakers of the forests and the oceans, we can always find some other

exotic replacement.

 

 

Health camp for jumbos in Jaipur. - Star 22.8.01

 

Twenty elephants exhausted by their daily trudge with tourists up the dusty

hill to India's Amber Fort, were the first customers to turn up at a special

health camp established to look after the lumbering beasts.

Some lay down and some stood as expert elephant veterinarians treated their

rotten feet and cracked toe-nails under a jumbo sized canopy outside the

northern town of Jaipur. Executive director of the Wildlife Trust of India

(WTI) said the aim is to provide a free health camp and train people to look

after the elephants. All is not well with the 100-odd captive elephants

employed at the Amber Fort as a result of working long hours throughout the

year, where they suffer from a variety of ailments like colic, foot rot,

lameness, toe-nail crack and a host of other diseases, including

malnutrition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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