Many people want wild animals as exotic pets. Other people like to eat them. And some people's penchant for exotic "meat" is so great that they will go to great lengths and expenses just to obtain the meat of rare and endangered animals.
What's worse is that some otherwise reputable sellers are all too willing to cater to such reprehensible culinary tastes. A case in point is a supermarket in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province.
As members of the animal welfare group Jakarta Animal Aid Network have discovered to their horror, a store of the Indonesian supermarket chain called Transmart was selling slices of meat from dead pythons in Manado.
The group has called for a boycott of the supermarket chain, while numerous animal lovers within the country and outside it have expressed anger and sadness over the sale of snakes as meat.
Others, however, have defended the sale of python meat, insisting that people have the right to eat whatever they wanted.
Manadonese cuisine is famous for many things, including being incredibly spicy, but it is also controversial for utilizing a wide variety of ‘exotic’ meats, including bat, boar, field rat, cat, dog and, yes, snake in its cooking, an Indonesia-based online news site explains.
The traditional marketplaces in the nearby mountain town of Tomohon and Tondano are especially infamous for selling these meats."
Needless to say, in Malaysia, too, the sale of endangered animals as bush meat remains all too common, especially in places like Sabah, despite unrelenting efforts to shut it down.
Meanwhile, the manager of the Indonesia store in question said the supermarket would pull python meat off the shelves in the face of all the negative publicity. However, he clearly saw nothing wrong with selling the meat of snakes per se as he insisted that many other stores in Manado have been doing so as well.
It's the usual "if everyone else is doing it, it can't be wrong" excuse. But killing and eating endangered animals is wrong no matter how many people may think otherwise.
Tourism, Travel, Hospitality, Conservation: News,Stories And Experiences From Allover The World
Showing posts with label Sabah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sabah. Show all posts
Friday, 7 July 2017
Tuesday, 13 June 2017
PHILIPPINES: Philippine Airlines To Fly To Kuala Lumpur After Three Years
Philippine Airlines (PAL) resumed daily service to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on June 8, 2017 after three years.
With investment opportunities in Malaysia's service and manufacturing sectors, the PAL route will provide direct access to new business opportunities. Close to 800,000 Overseas Filipino Workers are employed in Malaysia.
The resumption of PAL flights between Manila and Kuala Lumpur will help foster economic and cultural ties between the Philippines and Malaysia. Most importantly, it addresses the clamor for a direct service between the two capital cities, said PAL President and COO Jaime J. Bautista.
Through PAL flights and code-share partners, we can carry passenger traffic from Kuala Lumpur to China, Japan, South Pacific and North America and thus enhance our ASEAN network, he added.
As the airport operator, we are always committed towards building a strong relationship with our partner airlines to support its growth, not only in Malaysia but globally. Our mission here at Malaysia Airports is to create joyful experiences for all our stakeholders.
Therefore, we will ensure that Philippines Airlines operations will receive Malaysia Airports’ fullest support for any airport facilities and services needed at the terminal, shared Malaysia Airports Senior General Manager Zainol Mohd Isa.
The decision to return to Kuala Lumpur comes after PAL and Malaysia Airlines expanded their code-share arrangement. The enhancements include code-sharing on 12 domestic Malaysian destinations and nine domestic Philippine destinations.
The points are:
Malaysia - Alor Setar, Johor Bahru, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuching, Labuan (Sabah), Langkawi, Miri (Sarawak), Penang, Sibu (Sarawak), Tawau (Sabah).
Philippines - Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, General Santos, Iloilo, Kalibo, Puerto Princesa, Caticlan.
Passengers may book on Business Class or Economy Class to any of these destinations. Lounge access is also available to Business Class passengers.
Current frequent flyer baggage benefits of Mabuhay Miles and Enrich members are also extended.
Code-share passengers traveling between terminals in Manila can avail of PAL's free transfer services.
Passengers can choose from any of the daily Manila-Kuala Lumpur flight timings.
PR 525 departs Manila every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 7:25 AM and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 11:00 AM local time; the return flight – PR526 – leaves Kuala Lumpur on the same days at 12:10 PM local time, and touches down in Manila at 3:50 PM.
PR 527 leaves Manila on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 11:30 AM and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 3:00 PM local time; the return service – PR528 – departs Kuala Lumpur on the same days at 4:00 PM local time and touches down in Manila at 7:30 PM.
PAL is deploying the Airbus A321 on the route. The 199-seater aircraft has 12 seats in business class, 18 in premium economy and 169 in regular economy.
Wireless inflight entertainment can be enjoyed while flying onboard the A321 by downloading the myPAL Player app for free. This will allow passengers to stream movies, TV shows and music from their personal electronic devices. Passengers also have meal options - Asian, Western or Halal meals. Generous free baggage allowance form part of the flight offerings.
The PAL service enables travelers from KL to enjoy Manila for several days and connect to any of PAL's 28 domestic and 42 international destinations.
With investment opportunities in Malaysia's service and manufacturing sectors, the PAL route will provide direct access to new business opportunities. Close to 800,000 Overseas Filipino Workers are employed in Malaysia.
The resumption of PAL flights between Manila and Kuala Lumpur will help foster economic and cultural ties between the Philippines and Malaysia. Most importantly, it addresses the clamor for a direct service between the two capital cities, said PAL President and COO Jaime J. Bautista.
Through PAL flights and code-share partners, we can carry passenger traffic from Kuala Lumpur to China, Japan, South Pacific and North America and thus enhance our ASEAN network, he added.
As the airport operator, we are always committed towards building a strong relationship with our partner airlines to support its growth, not only in Malaysia but globally. Our mission here at Malaysia Airports is to create joyful experiences for all our stakeholders.
Therefore, we will ensure that Philippines Airlines operations will receive Malaysia Airports’ fullest support for any airport facilities and services needed at the terminal, shared Malaysia Airports Senior General Manager Zainol Mohd Isa.
The decision to return to Kuala Lumpur comes after PAL and Malaysia Airlines expanded their code-share arrangement. The enhancements include code-sharing on 12 domestic Malaysian destinations and nine domestic Philippine destinations.
The points are:
Malaysia - Alor Setar, Johor Bahru, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuching, Labuan (Sabah), Langkawi, Miri (Sarawak), Penang, Sibu (Sarawak), Tawau (Sabah).
Philippines - Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, General Santos, Iloilo, Kalibo, Puerto Princesa, Caticlan.
Passengers may book on Business Class or Economy Class to any of these destinations. Lounge access is also available to Business Class passengers.
Current frequent flyer baggage benefits of Mabuhay Miles and Enrich members are also extended.
Code-share passengers traveling between terminals in Manila can avail of PAL's free transfer services.
Passengers can choose from any of the daily Manila-Kuala Lumpur flight timings.
PR 525 departs Manila every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 7:25 AM and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 11:00 AM local time; the return flight – PR526 – leaves Kuala Lumpur on the same days at 12:10 PM local time, and touches down in Manila at 3:50 PM.
PR 527 leaves Manila on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 11:30 AM and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 3:00 PM local time; the return service – PR528 – departs Kuala Lumpur on the same days at 4:00 PM local time and touches down in Manila at 7:30 PM.
PAL is deploying the Airbus A321 on the route. The 199-seater aircraft has 12 seats in business class, 18 in premium economy and 169 in regular economy.
Wireless inflight entertainment can be enjoyed while flying onboard the A321 by downloading the myPAL Player app for free. This will allow passengers to stream movies, TV shows and music from their personal electronic devices. Passengers also have meal options - Asian, Western or Halal meals. Generous free baggage allowance form part of the flight offerings.
The PAL service enables travelers from KL to enjoy Manila for several days and connect to any of PAL's 28 domestic and 42 international destinations.
Sunday, 23 April 2017
VIETNAM: More Than 100 Pangolins Confiscated From Wildlife Traffickers
The car chase that ensued on a major road in Vietnam led to an unexpected discovery: a load of 118 critically endangered pangolins weighing 556kg.
Local police in the province of Ha Tinh knew something was amiss when the driver of a minivan refused to stop for a routine inspection at a traffic police checkpoint. Instead, the driver barreled through it, damaging two police vehicles. The officers gave chase and shot the tires of the car. Two wildlife traffickers escaped from the van, but the driver was apprehended.
That's when officers, while inspecting the vehicle, discovered 118 critically endangered pangolins wrapped up tightly in bags and piled on top of each other. The animals had had no access to food or water, but 113 of them had managed to survive and are now being looked after by staffers of the conservationist group Save Vietnam's Wildlife, who will release them back into the wild.
This time the animals were lucky. Many of them were still alive when they were accidentally discovered by law enforcement officials. Only recently, a large haul of pangolin scales, weighing 357kg, was discovered at a Vietnamese airport, in yet another case of rampant wildlife trafficking that has been driving all eight subspecies of pangolins ever closer to the verge of extinction across the wild in Africa and Asia.
In just one decade, some 1 million pangolins have been poached and sold for their meat and scales with a shocking 100,000 of them done so every single year. Vietnam has served as a major transit hub for the illegal trade in the animals. Over the past decade authorities in Vietnam have seized 54.8 tons of pangolins and 14.7 tons of scales. Meanwhile, populations of Sunda pangolins, which also inhabit some of Malaysia's forests, have plummeted by around 80% in recent years.
Pangolins, the world’s “most trafficked mammals,” are highly sought as ingredients in Chinese medicine and as meat in exotic dishes across much of Southeast Asia. Recently the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has voted to issue a total ban on the sale of all eight pangolin subspecies from Asia to Africa.
We must all must remain vigilant and step up the war on poaching and trafficking everywhere.
Officials in Vietnam have just made a gruesome discovery: the carcasses of five dead tigers in a wildlife trafficker's freezer. The internal organs of the Indochinese tigers had been removed, likely for use as ingredients in traditional medicine.
And there you have it. Despite heroic efforts by conservationists and wildlife officials across the region, the illegal wildlife trade carries on unabated. Vietnam remains a major transit point for the trafficking of tigers from across Southeast Asia and farther afield. Last May a Vietnamese man was arrested for trying to sell the frozen remains of four tiger cubs on Facebook.
Fuelling most of this deplorable trade in endangered animals are atavistic beliefs that falsely attribute medicinal properties to the body parts of "exotic" species. In China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and elsewhere the boiled bones of tigers ground and mixed with wine are widely on sale as medicine for arthritis and a variety of other ailments.
Back in 2010, the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT), an association of prominent conservationist groups, set up a wildlife crime hotline. People could now report crimes against the country's iconic but increasingly endangered tigers simply by dialing a number.
The hotline has been busy ever since.
Callers can report crimes not only against tigers but also against other wild animals. They can do that all day every day all year long. The idea is that locals can serve as the eyes and ears of enforcement officials by reporting wildlife crimes in their area. Concerned citizens can report suspected poaching activities in their forests. They can call in about protected animals taken from the wild or bred in captivity for sale as "exotic pets." They can provide information about the rampant bushmeat trade in some parts of the country, like Sabah and Sarawak.
After receiving a call, MYCAT's operators alert the relevant authorities based on the nature of an alleged crime. "[W]e are then able to direct them to the best action on a case by case basis," explains Quek Yew Aun, a conservation officer at MYCAT. "For example, if it is a wildlife crime, we relay this information to PERHILITAN. For a land use problem, the information is directed to the local Land Office."
The initiative has been working pretty well, he says. This past March, for example, two endangered black-winged kites (Elanus caerulens) were found in Bandar Botanic, in Klang, by two people who, rather than sell the birds for a price, did the right thing and called the hotline. "We relayed this information to PERHILITAN Selangor who promptly rescued the chicks for rehabilitation and release," the conservation officer says.
In another incident, he says, an injured adult barn owl (Tyto alba) was found with a broken wing by several students at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman in Perak. Instead of leaving the injured bird to its fate, they found the hotline's number on Google and rang it. "By following our instructions, they managed to send the owl for proper veterinary care and treatment," the officer says. "Now, like the black-winged kite chicks, it has a good chance of being released upon healing."
Meanwhile, a concerned citizen who saw several Indian star tortoises (Geochelone elegans) on sale at an online pet shop reported it to the hotline. This led to the arrest of five men who had been trafficking in protected species in Negri Sembilan.
"We laud the actions of these ordinary citizens. You are superheroes in your own right," the conservationist says. "We urge the public to remain vigilant," he adds. "Do report any suspicious activities, wildlife crimes or wildlife related issues to the MYCAT Wildlife Crime Hotline 019-356 4194. We promise we will be at the other end of the line, doing our best."
When even seasoned experts are taken aback by the scale of wildlife trafficking across Malaysia, you know we're in trouble. Yet taken aback experts are at TRAFFIC, an international anti-trafficking watchdog. And rightfully so.
Recent arrests of several wildlife traffickers by Malaysian authorities have provided further evidence (not that any more was needed) that the country remains a hotbed for an illicit trade in protected animals. These arrests have also served as a timely reminder that despite their successes local authorities have a long way to go before the buying and selling of "exotic" animals as pets and ingredients in traditional medicine can be stamped out.
That's especially so since much of the trade is conducted in the free-for-all environment of online social media, as TRAFFIC itself demonstrated last year, which can make the monitoring of it a challenge.
"But one year on [after we published our report], a sweep of seven illegal online traders and the rescue of 49 wild animals has turned that initial shock to utter dismay," about the scale of the problem, the nonprofit notes in an op-ed. "From the looks of last week’s enforcement action, and numerous arrests and seizures since 2015, it’s clear that illicit online wildlife trade has taken root and become an insidious norm."
Of especial concern is the fact that most of the animals seized from illegal traders were youngsters that belonged to totally protected species. In other words, despite all the educational campaigns conducted in Malaysia to wean locals off buying and selling endangered wildlife, many people just can't seem to care less. "This points to a disturbing disregard for the law among netizen traffickers and buyers of poached and smuggled wildlife," TRAFFIC observes.
"It also speaks volumes of how disconnected the Malaysian public is from nature," the group goes on to elucidate. "There seems little concern for how wild pets may have been sourced – if adults were killed to acquire juveniles or if they were stolen from Malaysian forests or another country, stuffed into suitcases and smuggled, countless dying along the way."
Let's pause to reflect on that, for a moment. Even as many Malaysians, especially young ones, go gaga over "cute" animals, like slow lorises and juvenile monkeys, they don't seem to realize (or care) that many of these animals are subjected to inhumane treatment at the hands of traffickers. If you truly love these animals, you would never want to see them suffer. Rather, you would seek to preserve them in the wild, where they belong.
And to make matters worse, many of those animal traffickers are young Malaysians themselves. Last year, for instance, wildlife authorities discovered a Facebook account used for selling protected animals. The site was run by a teenage school dropout who was caught at a local shopping mall after he had offered to sell a baby bearcat, also known as a binturong, for RM5,000 in a Facebook post. Other Malaysians, from students to housewives, have likewise taken to buying and selling protected animals online in wanton disregard of the country's laws.
And there's more: "There seems to be even less understanding of the dangers armed poachers in our jungles pose to national security, or the risk of zoonotic diseases spreading through illegal and irresponsible wild pet ownership," TRAFFIC explains.
Disheartening, yes. But what to do? The answer is, of course, clear: We must step up educational and awareness campaigns across the country, both online and offline. But such campaigns will bear little fruit unless they are complemented with a rigorous crackdown on all forms of animal trafficking throughout the sales chain from seller to buyer.
"What are postal, express mail, transport and logistics services doing to ensure their businesses aren’t being misused to ferry wildlife traded online?" TRAFFIC wonders poignantly. "What are other government departments and ministries that oversee these sectors doing to support enforcement agencies battling the menace?" It also asks: "Are we being too lenient with those who violate wildlife laws and are we failing to use available legal tools as the deterrents they are meant to be?"
Sadly, we know the answers to these questions. Malaysian authorities will need to get much tougher on wildlife traffickers. Encouragingly, several prominent Malaysian officials from Natural Resources and Environment Minister Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar to Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria clearly understand the urgency of the threats facing Malaysia's wildlife and have called for tougher actions accordingly.
But ultimately it is Malaysian citizens themselves that will need to act. TRAFFIC has called on Malaysian to do their part in stamping out the trade in protected species. "We ask citizens to report illegal wildlife trade they may witness," it says. "The Wildlife Crime Hotline 019-3564194 is open all day, every day. The Wildlife Witness App is free for download and can be used throughout Southeast Asia."
Parents should also discourage their children from buying exotic animals as pets. For that, cats, dogs, hamsters and a variety of traditional pets will do just fine. "We ask every parent to discourage their child from buying wild animals as pets and every adult to just say no when offered a protected wild animal," TRAFFIC says. "We would like to see schools teach students the wonder of Malaysia’s wildlife and we ask the private sector not to ignore the problem, or they role they play in perpetuating it. And we ask this for the wild."
Another day, another major bust of wildlife traffickers. To wit: Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) officials have busted a major network of trafficker who were operating via social media.
In the latest crackdown on the exotic pet trade, Perhilitan officials nabbed a total of 11 people who were found to be buying and selling endangered species, many of them online.
Officials also managed to rescue 50 animals from the traffickers' clutches. “I believe we have crippled a major illegal syndicate selling wildlife through the social media,” Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar announced at a press conference.
Among the arrested traffickers nabbed on a single day in late March was a 36-year-old local woman who was arrested at her house in Ampang for having three civets, seven black langur monkeys and six leopard cats. Also nabbed was a Pakistan man, who was found to have two boxes full of juvenile black langur monkeys, which he was transporting on his motorbike.
So, too, were five men, aged 21 to 25 years, who were travelling in two cars and were detained in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan, after officials found 28 Indian star tortoises and two hill mynahs in their possession.
Indian star tortoises were among exotic animals seized from traffickers.
"In the raid on March 27, seven people were arrested, for being a major supplier of wildlife, who are active in making online transactions selling wildlife illegally," Wan Junaidi explained. “The Wildlife Department has been monitoring their activities for a long time and we believe we have managed to break the main syndicate involved in exploiting the social media for illegal wildlife trading in Peninsular Malaysia.”
Complicating the work of wildlife officials is the fact that many people who buy and sell rare and protected animals online as part of Malaysia's thriving exotic pet trade aren't professional criminals. Rather, they're citizens who seek to complement their income by engaging in the trade Most of them conduct their business online, in Facebook chatrooms and via messaging apps like WhatsApp.
According to the minister, people who buy and sell wildlife illegally even include children from well-off families who like to keep exotic animals as pets. That's why improved environmental education is a must. Wan Junaidi has recently proposed adding environmental education to school curricula.
He has also called on citizens to stop selling and buying protected species. "The ministry is giving a strict warning to anyone who sells, keeps or owns wildlife without permission from the department, to stop doing so immediately or face legal action," he said.
“The Wildlife Department has been monitoring their activities for a long time and we believe we have managed to break the main syndicate involved in exploiting the social media for illegal wildlife trading in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said in a press conference, here, today."
Local police in the province of Ha Tinh knew something was amiss when the driver of a minivan refused to stop for a routine inspection at a traffic police checkpoint. Instead, the driver barreled through it, damaging two police vehicles. The officers gave chase and shot the tires of the car. Two wildlife traffickers escaped from the van, but the driver was apprehended.
That's when officers, while inspecting the vehicle, discovered 118 critically endangered pangolins wrapped up tightly in bags and piled on top of each other. The animals had had no access to food or water, but 113 of them had managed to survive and are now being looked after by staffers of the conservationist group Save Vietnam's Wildlife, who will release them back into the wild.
This time the animals were lucky. Many of them were still alive when they were accidentally discovered by law enforcement officials. Only recently, a large haul of pangolin scales, weighing 357kg, was discovered at a Vietnamese airport, in yet another case of rampant wildlife trafficking that has been driving all eight subspecies of pangolins ever closer to the verge of extinction across the wild in Africa and Asia.
In just one decade, some 1 million pangolins have been poached and sold for their meat and scales with a shocking 100,000 of them done so every single year. Vietnam has served as a major transit hub for the illegal trade in the animals. Over the past decade authorities in Vietnam have seized 54.8 tons of pangolins and 14.7 tons of scales. Meanwhile, populations of Sunda pangolins, which also inhabit some of Malaysia's forests, have plummeted by around 80% in recent years.
Pangolins, the world’s “most trafficked mammals,” are highly sought as ingredients in Chinese medicine and as meat in exotic dishes across much of Southeast Asia. Recently the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has voted to issue a total ban on the sale of all eight pangolin subspecies from Asia to Africa.
We must all must remain vigilant and step up the war on poaching and trafficking everywhere.
Officials in Vietnam have just made a gruesome discovery: the carcasses of five dead tigers in a wildlife trafficker's freezer. The internal organs of the Indochinese tigers had been removed, likely for use as ingredients in traditional medicine.
And there you have it. Despite heroic efforts by conservationists and wildlife officials across the region, the illegal wildlife trade carries on unabated. Vietnam remains a major transit point for the trafficking of tigers from across Southeast Asia and farther afield. Last May a Vietnamese man was arrested for trying to sell the frozen remains of four tiger cubs on Facebook.
Fuelling most of this deplorable trade in endangered animals are atavistic beliefs that falsely attribute medicinal properties to the body parts of "exotic" species. In China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and elsewhere the boiled bones of tigers ground and mixed with wine are widely on sale as medicine for arthritis and a variety of other ailments.
Back in 2010, the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT), an association of prominent conservationist groups, set up a wildlife crime hotline. People could now report crimes against the country's iconic but increasingly endangered tigers simply by dialing a number.
The hotline has been busy ever since.
Callers can report crimes not only against tigers but also against other wild animals. They can do that all day every day all year long. The idea is that locals can serve as the eyes and ears of enforcement officials by reporting wildlife crimes in their area. Concerned citizens can report suspected poaching activities in their forests. They can call in about protected animals taken from the wild or bred in captivity for sale as "exotic pets." They can provide information about the rampant bushmeat trade in some parts of the country, like Sabah and Sarawak.
After receiving a call, MYCAT's operators alert the relevant authorities based on the nature of an alleged crime. "[W]e are then able to direct them to the best action on a case by case basis," explains Quek Yew Aun, a conservation officer at MYCAT. "For example, if it is a wildlife crime, we relay this information to PERHILITAN. For a land use problem, the information is directed to the local Land Office."
The initiative has been working pretty well, he says. This past March, for example, two endangered black-winged kites (Elanus caerulens) were found in Bandar Botanic, in Klang, by two people who, rather than sell the birds for a price, did the right thing and called the hotline. "We relayed this information to PERHILITAN Selangor who promptly rescued the chicks for rehabilitation and release," the conservation officer says.
In another incident, he says, an injured adult barn owl (Tyto alba) was found with a broken wing by several students at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman in Perak. Instead of leaving the injured bird to its fate, they found the hotline's number on Google and rang it. "By following our instructions, they managed to send the owl for proper veterinary care and treatment," the officer says. "Now, like the black-winged kite chicks, it has a good chance of being released upon healing."
Meanwhile, a concerned citizen who saw several Indian star tortoises (Geochelone elegans) on sale at an online pet shop reported it to the hotline. This led to the arrest of five men who had been trafficking in protected species in Negri Sembilan.
"We laud the actions of these ordinary citizens. You are superheroes in your own right," the conservationist says. "We urge the public to remain vigilant," he adds. "Do report any suspicious activities, wildlife crimes or wildlife related issues to the MYCAT Wildlife Crime Hotline 019-356 4194. We promise we will be at the other end of the line, doing our best."
When even seasoned experts are taken aback by the scale of wildlife trafficking across Malaysia, you know we're in trouble. Yet taken aback experts are at TRAFFIC, an international anti-trafficking watchdog. And rightfully so.
Recent arrests of several wildlife traffickers by Malaysian authorities have provided further evidence (not that any more was needed) that the country remains a hotbed for an illicit trade in protected animals. These arrests have also served as a timely reminder that despite their successes local authorities have a long way to go before the buying and selling of "exotic" animals as pets and ingredients in traditional medicine can be stamped out.
That's especially so since much of the trade is conducted in the free-for-all environment of online social media, as TRAFFIC itself demonstrated last year, which can make the monitoring of it a challenge.
"But one year on [after we published our report], a sweep of seven illegal online traders and the rescue of 49 wild animals has turned that initial shock to utter dismay," about the scale of the problem, the nonprofit notes in an op-ed. "From the looks of last week’s enforcement action, and numerous arrests and seizures since 2015, it’s clear that illicit online wildlife trade has taken root and become an insidious norm."
Of especial concern is the fact that most of the animals seized from illegal traders were youngsters that belonged to totally protected species. In other words, despite all the educational campaigns conducted in Malaysia to wean locals off buying and selling endangered wildlife, many people just can't seem to care less. "This points to a disturbing disregard for the law among netizen traffickers and buyers of poached and smuggled wildlife," TRAFFIC observes.
"It also speaks volumes of how disconnected the Malaysian public is from nature," the group goes on to elucidate. "There seems little concern for how wild pets may have been sourced – if adults were killed to acquire juveniles or if they were stolen from Malaysian forests or another country, stuffed into suitcases and smuggled, countless dying along the way."
Let's pause to reflect on that, for a moment. Even as many Malaysians, especially young ones, go gaga over "cute" animals, like slow lorises and juvenile monkeys, they don't seem to realize (or care) that many of these animals are subjected to inhumane treatment at the hands of traffickers. If you truly love these animals, you would never want to see them suffer. Rather, you would seek to preserve them in the wild, where they belong.
And to make matters worse, many of those animal traffickers are young Malaysians themselves. Last year, for instance, wildlife authorities discovered a Facebook account used for selling protected animals. The site was run by a teenage school dropout who was caught at a local shopping mall after he had offered to sell a baby bearcat, also known as a binturong, for RM5,000 in a Facebook post. Other Malaysians, from students to housewives, have likewise taken to buying and selling protected animals online in wanton disregard of the country's laws.
And there's more: "There seems to be even less understanding of the dangers armed poachers in our jungles pose to national security, or the risk of zoonotic diseases spreading through illegal and irresponsible wild pet ownership," TRAFFIC explains.
Disheartening, yes. But what to do? The answer is, of course, clear: We must step up educational and awareness campaigns across the country, both online and offline. But such campaigns will bear little fruit unless they are complemented with a rigorous crackdown on all forms of animal trafficking throughout the sales chain from seller to buyer.
"What are postal, express mail, transport and logistics services doing to ensure their businesses aren’t being misused to ferry wildlife traded online?" TRAFFIC wonders poignantly. "What are other government departments and ministries that oversee these sectors doing to support enforcement agencies battling the menace?" It also asks: "Are we being too lenient with those who violate wildlife laws and are we failing to use available legal tools as the deterrents they are meant to be?"
Sadly, we know the answers to these questions. Malaysian authorities will need to get much tougher on wildlife traffickers. Encouragingly, several prominent Malaysian officials from Natural Resources and Environment Minister Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar to Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria clearly understand the urgency of the threats facing Malaysia's wildlife and have called for tougher actions accordingly.
But ultimately it is Malaysian citizens themselves that will need to act. TRAFFIC has called on Malaysian to do their part in stamping out the trade in protected species. "We ask citizens to report illegal wildlife trade they may witness," it says. "The Wildlife Crime Hotline 019-3564194 is open all day, every day. The Wildlife Witness App is free for download and can be used throughout Southeast Asia."
Parents should also discourage their children from buying exotic animals as pets. For that, cats, dogs, hamsters and a variety of traditional pets will do just fine. "We ask every parent to discourage their child from buying wild animals as pets and every adult to just say no when offered a protected wild animal," TRAFFIC says. "We would like to see schools teach students the wonder of Malaysia’s wildlife and we ask the private sector not to ignore the problem, or they role they play in perpetuating it. And we ask this for the wild."
Another day, another major bust of wildlife traffickers. To wit: Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) officials have busted a major network of trafficker who were operating via social media.
In the latest crackdown on the exotic pet trade, Perhilitan officials nabbed a total of 11 people who were found to be buying and selling endangered species, many of them online.
Officials also managed to rescue 50 animals from the traffickers' clutches. “I believe we have crippled a major illegal syndicate selling wildlife through the social media,” Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar announced at a press conference.
Among the arrested traffickers nabbed on a single day in late March was a 36-year-old local woman who was arrested at her house in Ampang for having three civets, seven black langur monkeys and six leopard cats. Also nabbed was a Pakistan man, who was found to have two boxes full of juvenile black langur monkeys, which he was transporting on his motorbike.
So, too, were five men, aged 21 to 25 years, who were travelling in two cars and were detained in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan, after officials found 28 Indian star tortoises and two hill mynahs in their possession.
Indian star tortoises were among exotic animals seized from traffickers.
"In the raid on March 27, seven people were arrested, for being a major supplier of wildlife, who are active in making online transactions selling wildlife illegally," Wan Junaidi explained. “The Wildlife Department has been monitoring their activities for a long time and we believe we have managed to break the main syndicate involved in exploiting the social media for illegal wildlife trading in Peninsular Malaysia.”
Complicating the work of wildlife officials is the fact that many people who buy and sell rare and protected animals online as part of Malaysia's thriving exotic pet trade aren't professional criminals. Rather, they're citizens who seek to complement their income by engaging in the trade Most of them conduct their business online, in Facebook chatrooms and via messaging apps like WhatsApp.
According to the minister, people who buy and sell wildlife illegally even include children from well-off families who like to keep exotic animals as pets. That's why improved environmental education is a must. Wan Junaidi has recently proposed adding environmental education to school curricula.
He has also called on citizens to stop selling and buying protected species. "The ministry is giving a strict warning to anyone who sells, keeps or owns wildlife without permission from the department, to stop doing so immediately or face legal action," he said.
“The Wildlife Department has been monitoring their activities for a long time and we believe we have managed to break the main syndicate involved in exploiting the social media for illegal wildlife trading in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said in a press conference, here, today."
Sunday, 5 March 2017
MALAYSIA: Capsized Chinese Tourist Boat,Prime Minister Najib Razak Calls For Probe
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has called for a full investigation after a boat carrying 28 Chinese tourists capsized off the coast of Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah.
"I take seriously the capsized boat tragedy in Sabah and I want a comprehensive investigation done to identity the cause of the incident," he posted Monday on Facebook.
Najib said efforts should focus on finding the six passengers who are still missing.
The boat, carrying three crewmen and 28 Chinese tourists, was first reported missing on Saturday. Authorities managed to recover 22 people from the water, but three passengers died.
The skipper and a crewmen were rescued Sunday. Since then, they have been reportedly detained by authorities to help with investigations.
China's foreign ministry has urged Malaysia to continue its search for the remaining passengers.
A ministry spokesperson also requested that Malaysian authorities keep them informed with the latest search and rescue developments.
The owner of the catamaran had notified authorities late Saturday that the boat had failed to return 12 hours after departing from the Tanjung Aru jetty on a trip to the island of Pulau Mengalum.
Located around 30 kilometres west of Kota Kinabalu, Pulau Mengalum is a popular tourist destination known for its clear waters.
"I take seriously the capsized boat tragedy in Sabah and I want a comprehensive investigation done to identity the cause of the incident," he posted Monday on Facebook.
Najib said efforts should focus on finding the six passengers who are still missing.
The boat, carrying three crewmen and 28 Chinese tourists, was first reported missing on Saturday. Authorities managed to recover 22 people from the water, but three passengers died.
The skipper and a crewmen were rescued Sunday. Since then, they have been reportedly detained by authorities to help with investigations.
China's foreign ministry has urged Malaysia to continue its search for the remaining passengers.
A ministry spokesperson also requested that Malaysian authorities keep them informed with the latest search and rescue developments.
The owner of the catamaran had notified authorities late Saturday that the boat had failed to return 12 hours after departing from the Tanjung Aru jetty on a trip to the island of Pulau Mengalum.
Located around 30 kilometres west of Kota Kinabalu, Pulau Mengalum is a popular tourist destination known for its clear waters.
Tuesday, 16 February 2016
MALAYSIA: Sabah To Impose Green Tax For Hotels
The East Malaysian state of Sabah is mulling imposing an environmental tax on hotels of three stars and above.
State minister Masidi Manjun said discussions over the tax are at an early stage and if sanctioned, a minimal fee would be imposed.
"We might call it an environmental tax, and the money will be put into a transparent trust fund to manage their garbage disposal for environment protection to work better," Masidi said.
He cited complaints by the public over waste disposal in Kota Kinabalu and said it was time to 'take the bull by the horns' before it starts to impact tourism.
"Tourists are coming to Sabah because they love the environment here, but I fear if we do not overcome the current issues, we will lose them and in the end, hurt our tourism industry, which is one of the main contributors to the state's economy," Masidi added.
State minister Masidi Manjun said discussions over the tax are at an early stage and if sanctioned, a minimal fee would be imposed.
"We might call it an environmental tax, and the money will be put into a transparent trust fund to manage their garbage disposal for environment protection to work better," Masidi said.
He cited complaints by the public over waste disposal in Kota Kinabalu and said it was time to 'take the bull by the horns' before it starts to impact tourism.
"Tourists are coming to Sabah because they love the environment here, but I fear if we do not overcome the current issues, we will lose them and in the end, hurt our tourism industry, which is one of the main contributors to the state's economy," Masidi added.
Thursday, 17 December 2015
MALAYSIA: Borneo Safari Featuring Macho Vehicles Versus Mud
And probably the biggest annual celebration of engine power and driving skill against muddy terrain has to be the Borneo Safari.
It’s the camaraderie and teamwork, leaving car manufacturers and brands aside, that brings everyone together in this huge 4WD reunion annually. The event attracts participants from all over Sabah, and neighbouring Labuan, Brunei and Indonesia.
This year was special as it was the Silver Jubilee of the Borneo Safari with the biggest ever entourage of 317 4WDs. They visited the villages in the interior of Keningau and Tenom for a charity drive, donating chainsaws and pumps and erecting football goal posts.
Isuzu Malaysia prepared D-Max monsters as media cars throughout the expedition. These beasts were indeed powerful and robust, yet they kept us comfortable with their spacious interior. Its large cargo area could also carry the usual camping gear and supplies.
Team Maxxis bouncing en route to a splashing victory at the Borneo Safari 2015.
Although I had never driven a 4WD previously, and it’s been ages since I had driven a car with a manual gear, I found the D-Max intuitive and easy to drive.
A “special stage” was set up for the media team to test drive the monsters. I was apprehensive, but I breezed through the course and wished we had more obstacles to drive through! Driving through a (mild) river would have definitely been fun, says this self-professed water-baby.
We were also shown the technique of descending steep slopes by using gears rather than brakes as one would instinctively do. It took some getting used to, and it was a good technique to know.
The key to navigating a route or obstacle safely is to learn the hand signals given by the co-driver.
Andre Norbert, President of the 4WD Club of Penampang, Sabah says, “It’s very important to trust your co-driver when he gives instructions outside the vehicle. I do not look at anyone else except him.”
Approximately 160 cars tagged on to the Borneo Safari as non-competitors. They were in it to experience the mystique of Borneo, and to put their 4WDs to the test in crossing rivers and obstacles.
Sometimes repairs need to be made on the fly.
While our entourage escaped with relative ease, the terrain had been dug into deep ruts by the hundreds of car going through. So when the tag-on cars arrived at our campsite one to two days later, the place looked like something the cat dragged in. Nevertheless, they relished the challenge of working together to get each other out of the muddy, sticky, situation.
Experience matters as does a bit of physics. Choosing the right winching point is important too: we saw one car thrown into deep mud, with water up to the driver’s chest in the river, when wrong decisions were made.
Despite the ruggedness of the trail, as long as you have a coffee or drink in your hand, anyone around you will welcome you to sit down for a chat. The conversations and stories shared are truly engaging as everyone listens intently without modern distractions like surfing on smartphones (there is no line in the deep jungle).
This is how real friendships are made, something which is renewed annually in the Borneo Safari alumni.
Camaraderie over cuppas and crucial hand signals make or break one’s journey through the forest.
7-star glamping
The campsite at Kampung Kelorok was equivalent to a 7-star hotel with a huge “bedroom” area where everyone had set up their own modern camp beds. Set in the Crocker mountain range, of western Sabah, temperatures kept us chilly into the night.
There was a Camp Manager crew who would set up and break camps, and a Chuck Wagon crew which took care of our daily meals so we didn’t have to lift a finger. This village also had proper buildings as our make-shift toilets and piped water into our bathrooms. Now isn’t that glamorous camping aka glamping?
Everyday, the villagers would sell us organic vegetables which they gathered from the surrounding forests, including a type of bitter green, ginger flowers and fern shoots. We also had servings of free range chicken, and noticed the population of chickens depleting as our stay increased!
If it weren’t for the cloudy nights (which brought a bit of rain), we would have starry skies which would have upgraded our “hotel” to a million-star rating.
Due to lack of rain, the terrain wasn’t as hardcore as we had anticipated. Thoughtfully, we were handed a “survival kit” laden with nuts, cookies, sweets and biscuits to feed our hungry tummies if we got stuck in the mud for long periods of time. The latter didn’t happen and the children in the villages were more than happy to share our stash.
We finally had a taste of the river in Kampung Melalap plus freshly barbequed fish and the village pride, a big vase of tapai, or sweet fermented rice with a little bit of alcohol in it.
To survive the week-long expedition is pretty easy. Bring along a sense of adventure, an open mind and leave your worries and smartphone behind.
Friday, 9 October 2015
MALAYSIA: Birds Can Be Good Tourism, Says Naturalist
Andrew J. Sebastian will be promoting birding and ecotourism in Malaysia at the first American Birding Expo - See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/birds-can-be-a-big-deal-in-tourism-says-naturalist#sthash.pjFq1n4e.dpuf
What Andrew J. Sebastian, naturalist, environmentalist and bird guide, really wants is for Malaysians to look at the photos of birds in Malaysia, and think, “Wow! our country has wonderful things to offer. Birds are a big deal.”
Sebastian’s days and nights are spent talking, educating, promoting and persuading everyone he meets to fall in love with birding, which is the hobby of watching birds.
Malaysia has many species of birds that many Malaysians are not aware of, but foreigners are. This is why he is setting on a new path: championing ecotourism, with a focus on birds.
Sebastian will be presenting Malaysia and promoting birding at the first American Birding Expo, which started yesterday. He is all psyched, to talk about birds, Malaysian birds, Malaysia and ecotourism.
“For the uninitiated, birding is a hobby for people who like to watch birds. It has become a fast growing product around the world and means big business.
“In the United Kingdom, there is a huge birding community, and the Royal Society for The Protection of Birds has over a million members.
“There’s a big market for us and loads of people to come to Malaysia. America has over 44 million bird watchers. USA is a good market. We want to woo them to come over to Malaysia.
“The American Birding Expo is fashioned after the UK bird fair. I will represent Malaysia and man the booth there to woo American birders to come over.”
Malaysia has a diverse species of birds, which cen be promoted to attract bird watchers from all over the world, says Andrew J. Sebastian. – Photo courtesy of Sebastian.Malaysia has a diverse species of birds, which cen be promoted to attract bird watchers from all over the world, says Andrew J. Sebastian. – Photo courtesy of Sebastian.It is said that birdwatching in the US, Canada, and Mexico generates US$25 billion (RM110 billion) per year and it employs over 60,000 people.
Malaysia has a diverse species of birds, which cen be promoted to attract bird watchers from all over the world, says Andrew J. Sebastian.
Livescience reported that, “Avitourism, as this particular sector of the industry is known, is one of the most lucrative sources of income in ecotourism. It accounts for the largest single group of ecotourists across the globe, and according to some estimates, three million international trips are taken each year for the main purpose of bird-watching.“
Malaysia could be an example of ecotourism success, Sebastian said, if only it could organise itself and focus on the wealth the country offers – hiking, nature reserves, the vast mountains and lush green padi fields and jungles, and the vibrant flora and fauna.
Then there are the white sandy beaches of Terengganu and renowned diving spots around the country.
Why is Malaysia’s ecotourism so underdeveloped? For one, Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak have different things to offer.
The peninsula has no champion to promote ecotourism. There are a lot of local champions, but not one star promoter.
Across the pond, there is Datuk Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin, Sabah Tourism Board chairman, who has been pushing ecotourism for many years.
Peninsular Malaysia also has a different growth chart that needs to be developed. Each state has its own idea of ecotourism, and attempts have been rather half-hearted.
Sabah and Sarawak are blessed with nature, culture and heritage and both states are dedicated to ecotourism.
Andrew J. Sebastian says birding can be a lucrative industry in Malaysia. Malaysia does have her share of eco-champions such as Irshad Mobarak and Hymeir Kamaruddin, who promote their nature reserves up north. Still, there is room for more players in Malaysian ecotourism.
However, this could change, with Sebastian as a champion.
“Why me? Firstly I have the passion and interest. Secondly I have been doing birding and eco tourism for a long time.
“We still have a long way to go. I’m trying my best to promote eco-tourism and sustainability in our tourism industry.
"If we can show the government that ecotourism works, then we don’t have to work so hard to build up structures, for we have everything already.”
Sebastian’s passion for birds earned him an invitation from the organisers of the American expo. He then approached Tourism Malaysia who agreed to send him to the US.
“Malaysia is sitting on a gold mine when it comes to ecotourism. We should embrace this and be proud of our treasures. Our birds are our wealth.”
What Andrew J. Sebastian, naturalist, environmentalist and bird guide, really wants is for Malaysians to look at the photos of birds in Malaysia, and think, “Wow! our country has wonderful things to offer. Birds are a big deal.”
Sebastian’s days and nights are spent talking, educating, promoting and persuading everyone he meets to fall in love with birding, which is the hobby of watching birds.
Malaysia has many species of birds that many Malaysians are not aware of, but foreigners are. This is why he is setting on a new path: championing ecotourism, with a focus on birds.
Sebastian will be presenting Malaysia and promoting birding at the first American Birding Expo, which started yesterday. He is all psyched, to talk about birds, Malaysian birds, Malaysia and ecotourism.
“For the uninitiated, birding is a hobby for people who like to watch birds. It has become a fast growing product around the world and means big business.
“In the United Kingdom, there is a huge birding community, and the Royal Society for The Protection of Birds has over a million members.
“There’s a big market for us and loads of people to come to Malaysia. America has over 44 million bird watchers. USA is a good market. We want to woo them to come over to Malaysia.
“The American Birding Expo is fashioned after the UK bird fair. I will represent Malaysia and man the booth there to woo American birders to come over.”
Malaysia has a diverse species of birds, which cen be promoted to attract bird watchers from all over the world, says Andrew J. Sebastian. – Photo courtesy of Sebastian.Malaysia has a diverse species of birds, which cen be promoted to attract bird watchers from all over the world, says Andrew J. Sebastian. – Photo courtesy of Sebastian.It is said that birdwatching in the US, Canada, and Mexico generates US$25 billion (RM110 billion) per year and it employs over 60,000 people.
Malaysia has a diverse species of birds, which cen be promoted to attract bird watchers from all over the world, says Andrew J. Sebastian.
Livescience reported that, “Avitourism, as this particular sector of the industry is known, is one of the most lucrative sources of income in ecotourism. It accounts for the largest single group of ecotourists across the globe, and according to some estimates, three million international trips are taken each year for the main purpose of bird-watching.“
Malaysia could be an example of ecotourism success, Sebastian said, if only it could organise itself and focus on the wealth the country offers – hiking, nature reserves, the vast mountains and lush green padi fields and jungles, and the vibrant flora and fauna.
Then there are the white sandy beaches of Terengganu and renowned diving spots around the country.
Why is Malaysia’s ecotourism so underdeveloped? For one, Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak have different things to offer.
The peninsula has no champion to promote ecotourism. There are a lot of local champions, but not one star promoter.
Across the pond, there is Datuk Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin, Sabah Tourism Board chairman, who has been pushing ecotourism for many years.
Peninsular Malaysia also has a different growth chart that needs to be developed. Each state has its own idea of ecotourism, and attempts have been rather half-hearted.
Sabah and Sarawak are blessed with nature, culture and heritage and both states are dedicated to ecotourism.
Andrew J. Sebastian says birding can be a lucrative industry in Malaysia. Malaysia does have her share of eco-champions such as Irshad Mobarak and Hymeir Kamaruddin, who promote their nature reserves up north. Still, there is room for more players in Malaysian ecotourism.
However, this could change, with Sebastian as a champion.
“Why me? Firstly I have the passion and interest. Secondly I have been doing birding and eco tourism for a long time.
“We still have a long way to go. I’m trying my best to promote eco-tourism and sustainability in our tourism industry.
"If we can show the government that ecotourism works, then we don’t have to work so hard to build up structures, for we have everything already.”
Sebastian’s passion for birds earned him an invitation from the organisers of the American expo. He then approached Tourism Malaysia who agreed to send him to the US.
“Malaysia is sitting on a gold mine when it comes to ecotourism. We should embrace this and be proud of our treasures. Our birds are our wealth.”
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