http://www.theborneopost.com/2018/08/29/more-elephants-killed-by-snares-wwf/

KOTA KINABALU: Despite actions taken by the enforcement authorities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to end the continuous elephant deaths in Sabah, the fact of the matter is that more and more elephants are dying on our watch.

Just last week, WWF-Malaysia said there was yet another elephant death, this time due to a severe snare wound that led to septicaemia and eventually multiple organ failures.

The death of this jumbo joins at least 25 other elephant deaths since the beginning of this year.

WWF-Malaysia said even more worrisome than the number of elephant deaths are the number of elephants that have died due to strategically placed snare traps within their habitat.

In the past two months, WWF-Malaysia four elephants have died due to snare related injuries. These were all male elephants aged between one to nine years old. All four elephants were found at plantations surrounding the Sg Taliwas Forest Reserve and Sapagaya Forest Reserve.

According to WWF-Malaysia in a statement yesterday, snares are commonly used by poachers, where they are placed along animal trails in forest reserves bordering plantations with the intention of catching wild boars and deer.

Though elephants are very rarely the target of poachers, they commonly fall victim to these devices. This is because elephants use the same trails as other wildlife causing them to become a product of bycatch since snares indiscriminately kill wildlife.

If not treated early, snare wounds causes a slow and painful death for the animal as they lead to severe infection.

WWF-Malaysia together with the Sabah Forestry Department and the Sabah Wildlife Department have continuously worked together to conduct joint anti-snaring operations (Ops Jerat) to remove snares in the forest reserves that are bordering plantations.

As of now, five operations have been carried out and through these operations, 25 snares were found in forest reserves. Sixteen hunting platforms were also discovered in both forest reserves and surrounding plantations, and five pitfall traps that measured about seven feet deep were found in these plantations.

WWF-Malaysia said it will continue its Ops Jerat in collaboration with the government particularly in identified poaching hot spots.

Currently, the Sabah Wildlife Department is investigating known suspects and has raided their quarters in search for incriminating evidences.

The organisation added it had previously called for the amendment of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 to include a strict liability provision for private landowners to be held accountable and would have to prove their innocence should a death of an elephant occur on their land or evidence of illegal activities such as snares, hunting platforms and pitfall traps are found in their area. Through this provision, the burden of proof will be reversed, which would mean that it no longer lies with the prosecutors.

It reiterates its call for the amendment and strongly urges the government to look into the matter urgently. It recognises that this provision has several loopholes that needs to be addressed before it can be implemented.

With this in mind, WWF-Malaysia is open to working together with the government to address them. The organisation suggests holding stakeholder consultations with plantations first in order to allow them to voice their concerns and also provide their recommendations.

WWF-Malaysia said the time has come for someone to shoulder the responsibility for the death of elephants, especially those occurring on their land.

In order to stop the premature deaths of one of Borneo’s most iconic species, it said strong actions must be taken and they must be taken now. Plantations cannot afford to ignore poaching activities that happen within their land or the land surrounding them simply because they are not participatory to it.

Under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, the Borneo elephants are totally protected species, where the harming or killing of elephant, whether intentional or otherwise, is punishable by law.

WWF-Malaysia urges plantations to play an active part alongside the government and NGOs in the conservation of elephants in Sabah. Plantation owners and workers can play a significant role by being more vigilant and reporting any suspicious activities to the Sabah Forestry Department and Sabah Wildlife Department.

“The truth of the matter is that elephants will use plantation landscapes and therefore plantations need to accept that they have to coexist with these animals. If we are not careful, within our lifetime, we could see the complete loss of Borneo elephants in Sabah,” added the organisation.

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
http://www.theborneopost.com/2018/08/29/more-elephants-killed-by-snares-wwf/

State Govt reward for info on jumbo killers

Kota Kinabalu: The State Government will offer a reward to those with information that can lead to the arrest of those who kill pygmy elephants.

Newly-appointed State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew said on Tuesday that the policy will be reactivated to deal with the cause of the killing of the species down at its roots.

She said the killing of pygmy elephants in Sabah is "getting worse", expressing sadness that one of the elephants killed was only about a year old.

"The Ministry will also reactivate the giving of rewards to witnesses. Anybody in the plantations who see elephants being killed and is willing to come forward as a witness will be rewarded," she told a press conference after attending a briefing session with ministry officials on its functions. It was her first day in office.

Liew said the reward policy is one of the measures the Ministry will take to bring elephant killers to justice.

The short term measures she said are to increase the number of field rangers in plantations and to engage with a consultant to advice the State Government on how best to deal with the human-elephant conflict.

She said the ministry has identified an expert but has yet to engage the person.

She also said that the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal had called her regarding the deaths of the six pygmy elephants. Shafie was reportedly puzzled why the elephant killing still occurred despite many claims of solutions from the previous government.

He was quoted as saying that the previous government perhaps did not have the political will to push through more drastic actions that would affect logging companies and plantations.

He demanded no more lip service but insisted on seeing short and long-term conservation plans to be implemented on a fast track basis.

He also promised that the Warisan government will facilitate the efforts and will not bow dowm to pressure from any groups.

The latest incident was reported following the discovery of an elephant carcass, believed to be a baby elephant, floating in Sungai Kinabatangan last Saturday. - Leonard Alaza


Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=124785

Thirty-Year-Old Elephant Found Shot Dead In Malaysia

Malaysian police are investigating after a 30-year-old elephant was found dead. Having been shot twice in the head and once in its rear, the bull's trunk and tusks had also been removed.

According to Malaysian news outlet the Star Online, Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order director, Commander Datuk Seri Zulkifli Abdullah said the elephant is thought to have been killed a week ago.

"The dead animal was found some 15km from the main road of Jalan Gerik-Kuala Kangsar," he said.

After receiving a tip-off, a team including police, General Operation Forces (the light infantry arm of the Royal Malaysia Police) and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks arrested four men aged between 40 and 49 at various locations on Sunday.

"One of them led the police to a house in Kampung Padang Jeri where they found two rifles, two homemade shotguns, RM10,500 (£1,900 / $2,700) in cash, 255 bullets, wire traps, machetes, chainsaw and various hunting equipment," said Zulkifli.

"We also seized a deer horn and seven bone fragments, believed to be from a tiger. All four suspects will be remanded until March 18 to be investigated for possessing illegal firearms, unlicensed weapons or ammunitions and for carrying weapons in public."

 To read the full article, click on the story title

Yet another endangered Borneo pygmy jumbo found dead in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Another critically endangered Borneo pygmy elephant has been found dead even as conservationists call for informants and professional investigators to be engaged to stop the killing.

The elephant, the ninth slain in the last 14 months, was a healthy 12-year-old bull named Liningkung, that was fitted with a satellite collar 18 months ago.

It was found in the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve on Sabah’s east coast on Tuesday.

Rangers discovered its decomposed carcass with the tusks untouched.


Liningkung’s movements were being monitored by DGFC on a weekly basis, Goossens said, and they alerted Sabah Forestry officials on Dec 11 to say that it had not moved since Dec 3.

A team is in the area to carry out a post-mortem.

“It is another sad day for elephant conservation. If this goes on, we might be staring at its extinction,” Goossens said.

There are only about 1,500 elephants left in Sabah’s forests.

This is the third elephant found dead in the same area in the past year.

Goossens said it is vital for a special wildlife enforcement unit to be set up to go after wildlife poachers and traders as suggested by chief conservator of forests Datuk Sam Mannan.

Meanwhile, Marc Acrenaz, scientific director for Sabah-based wildlife research and conservation NGO Hutan, said informers and professional investigators are needed to stop the killing.

“Many years ago, locals killed these animals for food and it was not too serious.

“Now, we see that things have changed and people are poaching for the international trade or killing them because of animal-human conflicts,” he said.

No suspects have been identified in many of these cases, including a recent incident where a bull elephant was shot in the mouth and died of dehydration because it could not eat or drink.

“The authorities lack people on the ground,” Acrenaz said.

“We need a strong team which can identify the culprits and bring them to justice,” he said, adding that the killings might stop then.

For now, Acrenaz said, there are not enough rangers to cover all the places where animals – especially endangered species like the pygmy elephants, orang utan and pangolins – roam.

He said the three main reasons for poaching and killing were conflicts between landowners and animals (especially elephants), poaching of bush meat because of demand by tourists, and the international underground trade in exotic meat and animal parts like ivory and pangolin scales.


Please credit and share this article with others using this link: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/12/14/yet-another-endangered-borneo-pygmy-jumbo-found-dead-in-sabah/