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/

Kuala Lumpur Airport hosts roadshow to raise awareness of wildlife trafficking by air

This message was delivered through the Anti Human & Wildlife Trafficking Roadshow, organized by Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) which includes the country’s flagship airline Malaysia Airlines Berhad. The roadshow was held with the support of Malaysia Airports Berhad, which manages KLIA. TRAFFIC was among exhibitors at the three-day event.

The roadshow was marked by the Group’s announcement that it had taken on a zero-tolerance policy against wildlife trafficking and would continue to reinforce its role by helping to shut down illegal wildlife trafficking by air.

Passengers pose by Manis, TRAFFIC's pangolin mascot, at the roadshow after learning about how to remain vigilant for suspected wildlife trafficking.

The airline, a signatory to the Buckingham Declaration, has so far engaged 4000 staff on wildlife trafficking issues. It also engages passengers and travellers on the topic through anti-wildlife trafficking messages on all countertop check-in posters and awareness videos on their in-flight entertainment systems.

Next month, the airline will host TRAFFIC for a half-day training event for all airport stakeholders under the USAID-Funded Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership.

The event was launched by Malaysia’s Deputy Home Affairs Minister Dato Masir Kujat and in attendance was United States Ambassador to Malaysia, Her Excellency Madam Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir who spoke in support of the cause.

During the event, TRAFFIC staff and volunteers engaged with travellers through exhibits which focused on encouraging travellers to holiday responsibly by not purchasing souvenirs made of wildlife parts, avoiding the consumption of exotic meat as well as reporting any suspected illegal wildlife activity. Awareness videos by TRAFFIC were also displayed on TV screens at the airport during the period.

This is TRAFFIC’s third exhibition on wildlife trade issues with Malaysia Airlines Berhad. It has also periodically participated in the Airline’s programme to engage its staff on the role of transport and logistics providers in fighting wildlife crime.

The Kuala Lumpur International Airport has come under the spotlight in recent years for its role as a transit hub in the smuggling of wildlife parts from Africa to Asia. Over the past year, Customs officials at the airport have seized significant amounts of African ivory, rhino horns, pangolin scales and freshwater tortoises, largely from cargo.

In August, the Royal Malaysian Customs made their eighth seizure of African pangolin scales and elephant ivory at the KLIA, bringing their total haul for the year to a staggering 1.7 tonnes of pangolin scales and 958 kg of ivory.

“Wildlife traffickers are exploiting the increasingly fast and efficient transport networks around the world, including in Malaysia, and airlines and airports need to put in place or improve systems and protocols that will stop such abuse and help disrupt criminal networks,” said Kanitha Krishnasamy, Acting Regional Director for TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia.

“It’s great to see interest from the airports and the airlines in Malaysia. We hope to see them maintain the momentum not just to raise awareness on illegal wildlife trade, but also effect changes in their systems that will support enforcement efforts against wildlife traffickers.”

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.traffic.org/home/2017/11/23/kuala-lumpur-airport-hosts-roadshow-to-raise-awareness-of-wi.html

Malaysia embraces Melanie's work on the illegal wildlife trade

RESEARCH into how the law can be used to protect endangered species has led to a University of Huddersfield lecturer's expertise being harnessed by an overseas nation that has some of the world's most diverse and fascinating wildlife.

Melanie Flynn, who specialises in "green criminology", was commissioned to carry out research for the UK arm of the World Wildlife Fund, leading to a report on sentencing for illegal wildlife trade in England and Wales.

This led to her being put in touch with the WWF in Malaysia, a super-diverse country that is home to species that include tigers, elephants, the Sumatran rhinoceros and the orang-utan.

"The WWF were setting up a meeting with the judiciary in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, where they have environmental courts to deal with wildlife crimes," said Mrs Flynn. "They flew me out as an expert adviser. I gave presentations and we ran some workshops. We got a commitment that the Malaysian judiciary would set up a committee to introduce sentencing guidelines for wildlife offences."

Progress has been slower in the UK, a country that is highly significant as a destination and a transit country for wildlife trafficking - claimed to be the world's fourth largest transnational illegal crime.
On behalf of the WWF, Mrs Flynn - who has degrees in both the law and criminology - produced a report on sentencing policy for wildlife trade offences in England and Wales. It was the result of a process that included an experts' workshop and interviews with CPS prosecutors.

The research examined 174 cases of illegal wildlife trade that resulted in convictions in courts of England and Wales and found that most cases resulted in non-custodial sentences and that fines were low - most of them being less than the value placed on the wildlife products that had been traded.
"Overall, sentencing was considered to be somewhat inconsistent as well as lenient when the high profits and significant harms of offending were taken into account. It was also found that there was little knowledge or experience of illegal wildlife trade or its impacts amongst criminal justice organisations... this was particularly the case for the magistracy and judiciary," states Melanie Flynn's report.

It was also found that wildlife crime was not always viewed as seriously as it ought to be and that there were limited resources available for tackling it. Mrs Flynn and the WWF therefore called on the Sentencing Council - which promotes greater consistency in sentencing - to draft guidelines. However, it remains resistant to the idea.

Although frustrated by this, Mrs Flynn continues to work with the WWF on wildlife crime, with her Malaysian connection being one result. Also, she was invited to contribute to the journal of the Magistrates' Association, and this has been important in raising awareness of the issues, she says.
In addition to her research on sentencing, Melanie Flynn - who has worked as a crime analyst and who has been a research fellow at the UCL Jill Dando Institute Crime Science Lab - is also working on preventative measures in the field of wildlife crime.

"My background is in situational crime prevention, which is about opportunity reduction on the ground. It is about altering the environment to reduce opportunities to offend, but it is also about removing the frustrations that individuals hold," said Mrs Flynn, who includes green criminology in one of the modules she teaches at the University of Huddersfield.

"Some of the killings of endangered species are in retaliation because crops have been trampled or livestock might have been attacked. Measures such as compensation schemes can remove the incentive to retaliate. But we also need to provide more legitimate opportunities for people involved in poaching. We are talking predominantly about countries where there is a lot of poverty and not a lot of opportunity."

Please credit and share this article with others using this link: https://phys.org/news/2017-10-malaysia-embraces-melanie-illegal-wildlife.html

Killing of wildlife goes on in Sabah

The slaughter of Sabah’s wildlife continued this month with little signs of slowing down as two critically-endangered Bornean pygmy elephants were killed for tusks and at least nine endangered green turtles were found butchered on the east coast.

The killings sent fresh shockwaves through the conservationist community, which appealed to the public to help put a stop to this.

A dead bull elephant was found floating down the Kinabatangan river close to the Danau Girang Research Centre (DGRC) on Monday, while another was found dead at a plantation in the Dumpas area of Kalabakan on Sept 10.

“This cannot go unpunished. We need to bring these criminals to court,” conservationist Dr Benoit Goossens said.


Dr Goossens, the director of the Kinabatangan-based DGRC, said that with fewer than 2,000 elephants in Sabah, the population would be in jeopardy if the killing of mature bulls goes on.

“Elephants are already threatened by habitat loss and conflict with humans. If you add poaching, the species will not survive. We must get rid of the poachers and traders,” he said.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said the tusks may be bound for Indonesia, where they are used as dowry in some communities.

On the turtles found on Pulau Bum Bum in Semporna district, he said reports indicated that all nine were stripped of their flesh and the lower shell, called the plastron.

He said the turtle killings may have been committed by members of the same group detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) early this year.

Augustine said the MMEA detained a boat from southern Philippines, with four men on board, bound for Semporna loaded with turtle flesh and plastron. The department prosecuted the four men and they were jailed two years and fined RM100,000 each.

Augustine said the wildlife authorities needed the help of villagers and other agencies in protecting endangered animals.

“The killings have to stop but we cannot do it alone,” he said.

Please credit and share this article with others using this link: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/09/29/killing-of-wildlife-goes-on-in-sabah-help-protect-animals-ngo-urges-public/#YLUwiuOkAjYmolmV.99

Clamp down on illegal wildlife parts trade, say groups

The rising cases of Malaysia being a transit point for the illegal wildlife parts trade is serious and has far-reaching consequences including animal extinction in the region.

Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia president Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil said more stringent measures should be taken to deter would-be wildlife traffickers.

“The value of the poached animals is rather high resulting in an alarming number of exotic animals killed for commercial gains. This will inevitably diminish the species within years.

“This has to stop, otherwise we will have a crisis on our hands,” Shariffa Sabrina said.


The Aug 29 attempt by an international syndicate using the country’s port as a transit point to smuggle out the cache was thwarted.

Last July, the world’s largest seizure of ivory took place in Hong Kong when more than seven tonnes arrived in a shipping container from Malaysia.

The 7,200kg shipment – valued at RM39.1mil – was uncovered by the authorities in the former British colony, highlighting the huge demand in the illegal ivory trade.

World Wildlife Fund for Nature (Malaysia) CEO and executive director Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma congratulated Customs over the recent confiscation of illegal wildlife parts.

“This is a huge crime against wildlife, especially as elephants and pangolins are also currently threatened by habitat loss and low reproductive rates.

“Each adult female for both species can only produce an offspring at a time and in the case of an elephant, it has the longest pregnancy period of all mammals, which lasts more than a year and a half.

“Therefore, the death of even one member of the species has a major impact on the whole population.

“I call upon the state government of Sabah, and federal agencies to share resources such as manpower and intelligence to clamp down on illegal wildlife trade,” he said in a statement.

Dr Sharma said WWF Malaysia remains committed to fighting wildlife crime by providing technical expertise and sharing information with government agencies, such as the district anti-poaching task force in Sabah.

“We must show the world that we mean business when it comes to the survival of wildlife.

“Therefore, let us all work toget­her so that Sabah will no longer be a transit point for the illegal wildlife trade.

“Together, everything is possible,” he added.


Please credit and share this article with others using this link: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/09/10/clamp-down-on-illegal-wildlife-parts-trade-say-groups/#eFPteU2jQoTLMqhh.99