Malaysian knavery exposed by Hilary Chiew

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default.asp>The

Star Online

 

Tuesday November 22, 2005

 

Wildlife endangered

 

By HILARY CHIEW

 

Ever wondered how rare, endangered and totally

protected animals, such as orangutans, tigers,

elephants, gibbons, pangolins, slow lorises,

cockatoos and macaws end up in theme parks and private zoos?

 

Well, there is this thing called Special Permit

under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. It

basically grants permission to keep totally

protected species and is designed to regulate the

collection of both local and foreign species by

private individuals, theme parks and zoos.

 

The Natural Resources and Environment Minister

approves or rejects applications for the permits

based on the advice of the Department of Wildlife

and National Parks (Perhilitan) director-general.

The latter apparently does so through a Special

Permit Committee filled up by divisional directors.

 

However, wildlife observers are questioning the

committee’s integrity as the growing number of

theme parks and private zoos has led to many

applications to keep wildlife, including highly

endangered ones which are normally not traded.

 

The growing number of theme parks and private

zoos, which has led to many applications to keep

wildlife, including highly endangered ones, is of

concern to wildlife observers.

 

The concern over the permits surfaced recently

after two private parks, which hold valid Special

Permits, were found to have orangutans without

proper documents. One park has 14 orangutans of

questionable origins. Six of the 14 apes are

Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) but the other

eight are only noted as Bornean species without

specifications on which of the three subspecies

they belong to. The second park has one Sumatran

orangutan with no documents.

 

The orangutan is listed on Appendix I of the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered

Species (CITES), which means they cannot be

traded, due to their critically endangered status.

 

The Sumatran orangutan in particular, is in a

precarious state as its population is estimated

at around 7,500 individuals in the wild.

 

Hence, it is perplexing that Perhilitan – the

principal CITES management authority of the

country – had issued Special Permits for the apes in the first place.

 

Says a source from the zoo community: “Perhilitan

should only approve the permit after it is

satisfied that the animals were sourced legally.

But in the case of Cites I species like the

orangutan, it is near impossible to acquire them legally.”

 

The orangutan smuggling came to light after

Perhilitan ordered DNA finger-printing on 58

orangutans in seven zoos and theme parks in May:

Malacca Zoo, Taiping Zoo, Zoo Negara, Johor Zoo,

A’Famosa Resort, TC Arapaima and Bukit Merah Laketown Resort.

 

Results showed 46 orangutans to be Bornean

species and 12, Sumatran. A Perhilitan press

statement said five of the 12 Sumatran orangutans

were brought in before CITES came into force in

1975, so their acquisition is above board.

However, seven Sumatran orangutans from two

facilities did not have proper documentation.

Perhilitan has not named the two parks.

 

Requests to Perhilitan to name the species of

eight other orangutans held by one of the park

have gone unanswered but it is learnt that DNA

results showed them to be the Southern Bornean

subspecies (Pongo pymaeus wurmbii), found only in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

 

If so, then the orang utans are likely to have

been smuggled in too. Furthermore, wildlife

officials from Sabah and Sarawak confirm that

neither state has delivered any orangutans to the

theme park. Sabah is home to the Eastern Bornean

orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus morio) and Sarawak, the

Western Bornean orangutan (Pongo pymaeus pymaeus).

 

Wildlife conservationists are also dismayed over

the flagrant claims of in situ conservation,

humanitarian rescue and education by applicants

to support their applications for Special Permits.

 

A wildlife trade observer says issuing Special

Permits for totally protected species to theme

parks and private zoos is perpetuating the

illegal trade in wildlife. He says all sorts of

unsubstantiated claims are used in permit applications.

 

One applicant who wanted to keep four palm

cockatoos and two Moluccan cockatoos claimed that

the birds were surrendered to him because their

owners had no “proper permit and licence.” The

same applicant had the previous year applied for

a permit for two baby gibbons and a baby bear,

which he had rescued from an Orang Asli

settlement, in order to, nurse them back to health.

 

The source raises questions over the actual

origins of the animals, and whether Perhilitan

investigated the claims before issuing the permits.

 

The absence of a monitoring mechanism for animals

kept under the Special Permit is another concern.

 

A source involved in investigating the wildlife

smuggling notes that the Special Permit is akin

to a carte blanche given to these facilities to

own totally protected species. “It is a blatant

disregard for CITES rules and regulations which

Malaysia, as a signatory since 1977 must adhere to.”

 

Although one applicant is allowed one Special

Permit at any one time, the theme park with the

six smuggled orangutans was issued two permits

for 20 orangutans in November 2000, and these have been renewed annually.

 

A wildlife trade observer says issuing special

permits for totally protected species to theme

parks and private zoos is perpetuating the illegal trade in wildlife.

 

The permit also allowed it to acquire not only

orangutans, but also 150 species of both native

and non-native fauna, including a number of

Appendix I animals such as the gorilla,

chimpanzee, giant panda and Komodo dragon.

Furthermore, the number of each species approved

is outrageously high: 10 lowland gorillas, 20

chimpanzees, 10 white rhinos, 10 komodo dragons and 30 oryxs.

 

In fact, the park was fined RM1,000 in July 2000

for having six orangutans without valid CITES documents.

 

Perhilitan, however, did not seize the apes. The

park continued keeping them and was issued

Special Permits to expand its orangutan family.

 

As for claims of education, wildlife monitoring

network TRAFFIC South-East Asia Programme Officer

Julia Ng says visitors to theme parks are neither

gaining any insight into the life of animals in

the wild nor the threat they face.

 

“What they see is unnatural behaviour of the

animal playing golf and cycling. It sends out the

wrong message that wildlife is meant to entertain humans.”

 

She says there is also physical torture of

animals when they are trained to perform tricks

that are not their normal behaviour. “I have seen

elephants repeatedly hit with the mahout's hook

when they refuse to follow orders. I can see the scars on their foreheads.”

 

Conservationists are calling for a re-examination

of all Special Permits issued, and for abusers to

be dealt with if the government is serious about

its commitment to bio-diversity protection.

 

However, Perhilitan has not mentioned any plans

to prosecute the two parks for their illegally

sourced orangutans although it plans to

repatriate the primates to Sumatra, an apparent

move to fulfil its obligation as a CITES member.

 

Perhilitan enforcement director Misliah Mohamad

Basir told an English daily that prosecuting the

culprits might pose a challenge as the Sumatran

orangutan, being a subspecies, may not qualify

for total protection under the Wildlife Protection Act.

 

Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Agency is

investigating the orangutan smuggling. Federal

Territory ACA chief Chuah Chang Man says

statements are being taken from several key

figures and seven orangutans (four Sumatrans and

three Borneans), now kept in the Malacca Zoo,

have been micro-chipped as evidence.