Guest guest Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Letters- The New Straits Times When do-gooders may do more harm DATUK MUSA NORDIN Director-General Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia Sept 26: -- MALAYSIA is one of 12 megadiversity countries and all of us have the responsibility to protect our national heritage. The illegal wildlife trade, however, is a serious threat to Malaysia’s wildlife. The Department of Wild- life and National Parks in peninsular Malaysia is concerned about two recent cases that have been highlighted by the local media. The first case involves a tiger cub which was " rescued " by an individual who paid more than RM10,000 to save it from slaughter for the exotic meat industry. The second involves three people who paid RM3,000 to prevent a reticulated python from suffering the same fate. The department appreciates the good intentions of these well-meaning individuals. However, some clarification is necessary. While they saved the individual animals, their actions meant they had directly supported the illegal wildlife trade. Whatever the intention, buying and selling wildlife without the permits is a serious offence under the Protection of Wild Life Act 1972. The illegal traders made their profit. And now, these traders have another market to make their profits from: the " rescuers " . They will now seek to prey on the goodness of well-meaning Malaysians. While one animal might be saved this way, it means that more animals will be illegally taken from the wild. The main culprits here are illegal wildlife traders and the public must assist the department in having them charged, prosecuted and sentenced. Do not take matters into your hands but report immediately to the authorities who have the power to do something about it. Notify the departmental office closest to you if you have information on anyone selling or trapping protected species, or trading in their parts and products. Call authorities LAST month, the local media hailed an individual who paid more than RM10,000 to buy a tiger cub from an exotic meat restaurant to save it. Last week, in similar fashion, three individuals paid RM3,000 to a wildlife trader for a reticulated python to save it. These individuals should be commended. Their actions were a fine display of the Malaysian spirit of caring for wildlife. We are concerned, however, about the legal and conservation implications, and fear that their actions may have started a worrisome trend, contributing to a much larger problem of illegal wildlife trade. The fact remains that these restaurants operate openly and rescuing individual animals does nothing to solve the problem. Besides feeding the market for exotic meat, traditional medicines, trophies and collectible items, illegal pet and zoo collections and souvenirs, they now have a brand new category of buyers — the rescuers. The traders walked away from the deals with large profits. To them, it matters not what the motives of the people who paid for the animals were. And because of the media coverage, poachers now know that caring Malaysians are willing to pay a higher price than illegal restaurant owners. So what is the public to do? Do not support the illegal wildlife trade. Contact the authorities immediately if you have any information. The general misconception that the authorities do not act fast enough to handle these cases must be corrected. The authorities will act on reports, depending on the urgency of the case and quality of information provided. Notify the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia at 03 – 9075 2872 if you have any information on anyone selling or trapping protected species, or trading in their parts and products. Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers _______________ Block pop-up ads with MSN Toolbar. http://toolbar.msn.com.my/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.