(MY) amendment to wildlife act lauded

[Guest guest]

New Straits Times » Letters

Include more animals in protected list

 

Aug 13: SAHABAT Alam Malaysia (SAM) is delighted at news of the proposed

amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and urge the ministry to

expedite the implementation of the Act to deter smugglers and traders from

trafficking.

 

Despite the enactment of stiffer penalties for offenders, the lucrative

trade in wildlife is a roaring business and traders, smugglers, poachers,

hunters and animal dealers will resort to all means illegal to satisfy the

craze for exotic species with the use of sophisticated weaponry.

 

The amended Act should be strengthened by expanding the list of animals

covered including those bred in captivity, reptiles, insects and wild

plants.

 

Clearly, commercial trade in wildlife must be severely restricted or

eliminated across much of the region, through national policies and

international collaborations.

 

It is public demand that allows the trade to continue. Therefore, it is

important to cut off the trade from the consumer side.

 

Education is vital and the department could enlist the help of village

headman, community leaders and NGOs to inculcate an understanding of the

threatened species and the need to protect them as part of Malaysia's

natural heritage.

 

If these steps are not taken immediately all that will be left are silent

forests, empty of the birds and mammals that are critical to the health of

the forest.

 

 

 

 

 

_______________

Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com

[Guest guest]

Dr. Kay Farmer has sent the following message to the CITES Secretariat. She

has given me permission to circulate her letter.

 

Dear Willem Wijnstekers,

 

As a former manager of the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon and a current

member of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance advisory board, I would like to

comment on the 'Taiping Four' as they are now known.

 

Firstly, I would like to thank the CITES Secretariat for instigating an

investigation that has resulted in the announcement that the Government of

Malaysia are going to confiscate the illegally imported gorillas from

Nigeria. I am grateful to Shirley McGreal for successfully highlighting the

fate of these gorillas. Undoubtedly a precedent has been set, but what next?

 

It is imperative that all persons involved in this deal are made

accountable. Furthermore, these gorillas need to be returned to their

country of origin (most likely Cameroon) to strengthen the message that

there can be no benefits from participating in this illegal trade.

 

African sanctuaries have been created to provide a solution to the large

number of orphaned primates in need of refuge. As you must be well aware

confiscation of wildlife is vital to international law enforcement, and

where there are no sanctuaries, there are little or no confiscations.

 

Presently over half of all apes in African sanctuaries have been

confiscated. Furthermore, sanctuaries not only deal with the symptoms of

this illegal trade, but they also address its root causes and are an

integral part of in-situ conservation. The Limbe Wildlife Centre not only

offers a refuge for orphaned primates, but also has an active conservation

education programme that includes an education centre, on-site information

boards outside of enclosures, guided tours, nature clubs, conservation

seminars and workshops, and out-reach programmes to schools, hunting camps

and villages. However, the important role that sanctuaries play in in-situ

conservation is generally ignored and under valued, which is why sanctuaries

like the Limbe Wildlife Centre are over stretched financially and

logistically.

 

However, despite such difficulties, there is a team of dedicated Cameroonian

staff at the Limbe Wildlife Centre that successfully cares for all the

animals at the sanctuary. Frequently, the animals arrive in a very poor

state of health, suffering from both physical traumas and behavioural

abnormalities. Perhaps surprisingly, gorillas in particular are extremely

fragile, but this dedicated team is having great success with its gorilla

group. There is no question that this is where the 'Taiping Four' should go.

 

However, funds will be required to build a new gorilla enclosure. I ask for

your support in facilitating the return of these gorillas to Cameroon, in

getting them sent to the Limbe Wildlife Centre, and furthermore, that the

governments/parties involved are held responsible by paying for the

construction of a new gorilla facility.

 

I look forward to receiving your comments,

 

Yours Sincerely,

Dr Kay. H. Farmer.

 

******************

Dr. Kay H. Farmer

Scottish Primate Research Group

Department of Psychology,

University of Stirling,

Stirling FK9 4LA.

Scotland. U.K.

Tel:- 01786 466373

Fax: 01786 467641

Email: k.h.farmer

--

The University of Stirling is a university established in Scotland by

charter at Stirling, FK9 4LA. Privileged/Confidential Information may

be contained in this message. If you are not the addressee indicated

in this message (or responsible for delivery of the message to such

person), you may not disclose, copy or deliver this message to anyone

and any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is

prohibited and may be unlawful. In such case, you should destroy this

message and kindly notify the sender by reply email. Please advise

immediately if you or your employer do not consent to Internet email

for messages of this kind. Opinions, conclusions and other

information in this message that do not relate to the official

business of the University of Stirling shall be understood as neither

given nor endorsed by it.

 

Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman

International Primate Protection League

POB 766, Summerville SC 29484-0766, USA

Ph. 843-871-2280 Fax. 843-871-7988

E-mail: ippl. Website www.ippl.org

 

" We need not think alike to love alike. " Francis David