Letter to the Editor: Death of Rare Birds Exposes Horrors of Exotic Pet Trade

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

DEATH OF RARE BIRDS EXPOSES HORRORS OF EXOTIC PET TRADE

 

(Photo credits: The Star Online)

The tragic, senseless and deliberate drowning of 300 rare birds by wildlife traffickers when pursued by the authorities (Wed, 17 Jan 2018) evinces the cruel and destructive nature of the exotic pet trade.

 

The birds were drowned because they were merely merchandise and not sentient living beings to the traffickers, and when pursued, the birds became a liability and possible evidence in the event of arrest.

 

Birds are especially vulnerable to poaching and trafficking because of their abiding popularity as pets. Birds, especially parrots, are sedated and have their beaks cut or taped up, legs bound and wings clipped or tied by wildlife traffickers. The Animal Law Coalition reports that 60 percent of wild-caught birds do not survive to reach their destinations. Most die of shock, stress, illness and injury during capture, transportation, transit and captivity.

 

Readers who expressed sorrow at the needless deaths of the birds must realise that such incidents are not uncommon, and Malaysia is not merely a stopover for wildlife traffickers who are non-Malaysian citizens.

 

Malaysia is known to be a hub for wildlife trafficking and the illegal wildlife trade despite the existence of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 and Animal Welfare Act 2015. There are very few regulations in place making it difficult for people to purchase, acquire, or keep exotic animals, especially when proper licenses have been obtained.

 

Environmental organisations including TRAFFIC and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) confirm the existence of a flourishing trade in live animals and endangered species in Malaysia, and social media is a virtual wildlife supermarket offering everything from Common Hill Mynas to trapdoor spiders and sun bear cubs.

 

The international wildlife trade involves a multi-million dollar organised crime network. The Wildlife Conservation Society reports that the wildlife trade, which is valued to be approximately US$8 billion annually, is surpassed in scale only by the illegal trade in drugs and arms. Government agencies are no match for wildlife poachers and traffickers. Corruption, porous borders, and a lack of resources and manpower make it difficult for many developing countries to stop the illegal wildlife trade.

Yet stamping out the wildlife trade cannot be the responsibility of governments and law enforcement agencies alone. It is not them who are driving up the demand for exotic pets, but consumers who treat exotic pets as status symbols, social media users who upload and share posts featuring captive wildlife and exotic pets, and tourists who pay money to have photo opportunities with exotic pets and drugged wildlife.

Many people who defend their ‘right’ to purchase and keep wild birds and other exotic pets hang on to the misguided belief that the animals are safer in their care now that rainforests and other wildlife habitats have been destroyed, or that there is virtually no difference between keeping wildlife and keeping dogs, cats and other domestic animals as companion animals.

However, we must remember that the wildlife trade is a major threat to biodiversity, ecosystems and even human health and safety. Birds, especially parrots, can spread parrot fever and pneumonia, especially through the inhalation of their dry droppings in a cage or aviary. Keeping wild animals indoors confined to small tanks, cages and enclosures, away from members of their own species, is neither educational nor compassionate. Many exotic pets often end up being released, surrendered to zoos, abandoned or unintentionally killed due to ignorance and neglect. Many exotic species advertised as ‘captive bred’ are actually poached from the wild, since DNA testing cannot reveal whether an animal was raised in captivity or in the wild.

 

If the report of the drowned birds had saddened us, then it must also move us into action. We cannot continue normalising the practice of poaching, abusing, exploiting and confining wildlife. We need to question if our purchases and choices destroy habitats and the ability of rural and indigenous communities to sustain themselves, thus driving them to poach wildlife for a living. We need to refrain from taking photos with wildlife, sharing wildlife selfies on social media, and allowing circuses and badly-kept zoos to profit from exploiting wildlife.

 

Nature-lovers who enjoy watching and photographing wildlife must take extra care not to disclose the location of endangered species and birds’ nests. We need to advise friends and family against purchasing or acquiring exotic pets, and persuade them to adopt from local animal shelters or to visit and support sanctuaries and rescue organisations instead. We need to avoid shopping at pet stores that sell exotic pets, and should lodge reports on the sales of wildlife to Perhilitan or wildlife conservation groups that can assist in investigating and acting on our reports. Those who intend to report wildlife crime must be vigilant and relay accurate information, such as the species, location, photographic and documentary evidence and contact information, to Perhilitan’s official website or through their Careline at 1300-80-10-10, or to the 24-hour NGO-run Wildlife Crime Hotline at 019 356 4194. 

 

Birds in their natural habitat are not only beautiful to observe, but have an important ecological role to play. Birds pollinate plants, disperse seeds and keep insect and other disease vector populations down. The exotic pet trade is driving many wild bird species to extinction, and this can have a knock-on effect on other species and result in ecological imbalance.

 

There has to be a worldwide import ban on the bird trade to stop bird species from being poached and trafficked to extinction, and at the same time, more needs to be done to reduce the domestic demand for keeping wild birds as pets as well. It would do well for us to think of the excruciating yet avoidable deaths of the drowned birds before we purchase birds as pets or upload a wildlife selfie.

 

WONG EE LYNN

COORDINATOR,

GREEN LIVING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP,

MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY

 

 

Letter to the Editor: Our Shared Duty To Prevent Wildlife Deaths

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
OUR SHARED DUTY TO PREVENT WILDLIFE DEATHS

 

 

 

The demise of Puntung, one of the last three remaining Sumatran rhinoceroses (June 4), united the nation in our grief. Just weeks later, the tragic and avoidable death of a baby elephant by a speeding vehicle on the Gerik-Jeli Highway (June 19) left both the public and the conservation community dismayed and horrified. Photos that surfaced on social media in the same month (June 5) of the hunting and killing of protected and endangered species including the Malayan sun bear, ostensibly by indigenous hunters, are a further indication of the grave threats faced by Malaysian wildlife. It looks as though the future for wildlife in Malaysia is very bleak indeed, and that extinction is a certainty for many species.

 

Human behavioural change is essential to stopping wildlife trade and preventing extinction. As a direct result of poaching and habitat loss, there are only 2 Sumatran rhinoceros left in Malaysia following Puntung’s death. In order for anti-poaching and anti-wildlife trafficking laws to succeed, there must be public education and awareness efforts to encourage and reward wildlife crime reporting, eradicate bribery and corruption, and discourage the hunting, trafficking, sale, and consumption of wildlife. The power of social media must be harnessed to expose, report, identify and prosecute wildlife offenders, and to educate society that traditional medicine relying on wildlife parts such as rhinoceros horn and pangolin scales are a fraud and harmful both to wildlife populations and human safety and health. Whether or not we are in the medical or conservation communities, we must make it clear to everyone including other social media users, indigenous communities and the older generation who make up the majority of traditional Chinese medicine consumers that there are no benefits to consuming wildlife parts, and there is no such thing as legal or sustainable trade in wildlife.    

 

The hunting of wildlife by indigenous communities is a sensitive issue, and prosecuting indigenous hunters may be viewed as an oppressive act that impinges on indigenous rights. However, it cannot be denied that many indigenous hunters capture or kill wildlife for commercial gain, and the absence of arrests and prosecution will only embolden poachers and hunters to act with impunity. Some of the hunters may already be aware that the hunting and death rates have already exceeded the natural reproduction and growth rates of certain species, yet yield to the temptation of making a quick gain. We cannot ignore the human factor in wildlife protection, and as such, must participate in and contribute to efforts and initiatives to empower and provide alternative and sustainable livelihoods for rural and indigenous communities to reduce and eventually eliminate their need for poaching and hunting.

 

Environmentalists have consistently objected to the construction of new highways through forests and wildlife habitats, knowing the adverse ecological effects. In situations where such infrastructure already exists, there must be systems put in place to mitigate harm to natural areas and wildlife.

Whenever wildlife deaths by traffic occur, the public is quick to demand high-tech, high-cost solutions such as more wildlife viaducts and underpasses. Wildlife viaducts, corridors, culverts and underpasses, although expensive and time-consuming to construct, are without doubt the best ways to reduce wildlife deaths and alleviate the effects of habitat fragmentation. However, human behavioural change is a critical component of wildlife protection. Not all wildlife will use viaducts without fail, and until more viaducts are constructed, many more animals will succumb to wildlife-vehicle collisions. Some lower cost techniques and approaches to encourage driver behavioural change can include:

• Increasing public education to inculcate fauna- and bird-friendly driving attitudes and improve driver safety;
• Improving signage and lighting in areas with wildlife sightings;
• Introducing signage requiring drivers to honk near wildlife habitats to warn animals;
• Reducing or blocking off roadside food and water sources (e.g. grassy verges, fruiting trees, streams) to discourage wildlife from venturing to roadside areas for food and water;
• Installing light reflectors to intensify light from oncoming vehicles in order to scare or warn wildlife of approaching vehicles;
• Installing speed bumps to slow down traffic near wildlife habitats;
• Introducing light-coloured road surfaces to increase visibility and discourage wildlife from loitering and resting on roads;
• Installing devices that will detect wildlife or oncoming vehicles and emit warning sirens to alert both driver and wildlife;
• Developing and utilising mobile apps that work together with apps such as Waze and Google Maps to warn drivers of the presence of wildlife; and
• Installing speed cameras and enforcing speed limits in wildlife-rich areas.

 

The existence of wildlife protection laws alone will not ensure the survival of wildlife. It is incumbent upon all of us to take steps and modify our attitudes and behaviour to reduce wildlife deaths, failing which we will have to bear the detrimental environmental, economic and social consequences of an ecologically imbalanced and impoverished world.

WONG EE LYNN
COORDINATOR,
GREEN LIVING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP,
MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY

Eco Kids Column May 2017: 20 Ways To Help Wildlife

PENCINTA ALAM MAY 2017

ECO KIDS COLUMN

20 WAYS TO HELP WILDLIFE

By Wong Ee Lynn

wongeelynn@yahoo.com / gl.mnselangor@yahoo.com

 

Much as we would like to be, not every one of us are, or will someday be, wildlife biologists or working in the conservation and animal protection sector. However, there are many things we can do in our daily lives to assist and protect wildlife. These actions go beyond merely recycling empty containers and ‘liking’ posts on Facebook. Some may take you some time to implement or get used to. Hopefully, you are already doing many of the things on this list, but if you aren’t yet, choose at least one or two to try today!

 

1.      Bring rubbish sacks, gardening gloves and/or rubbish tongs/claws with you whenever you go out. Pick up litter whenever you are able, especially in natural spaces such as jungle trails and beaches. Each piece of litter removed from a natural ecosystem helps wildlife and creates better places for humans.

 

2.      Buy or make your own biodegradable and non-toxic cleaning products, such as laundry detergent, shampoo and dishwashing liquid. Chemicals in conventional detergents and cleaning products flow into drains, streams and rivers and often harm or kill wildlife. Do not use bleach as it is very toxic and even small quantities can kill pets, birds, frogs, earthworms, insects and other animals.

 

 

3.      Avoid using glue traps, sticky fly paper, rat traps and similar ‘pest control’ methods and devices. Birds, bats, squirrels and other small animals often get trapped in these cruel traps and suffocate and die. The best pest control method is prevention: store food in covered containers or screened and ventilated food cabinets, put waste in covered waste bins, keep your surroundings clean, keep drains and ditches clear and unblocked, and install window and door screens to keep insects out. If you find small animals or birds trapped in glue, clean them gently with vegetable or mineral oil and gently rub the glue off. Wash them clean with shampoo and water until there are no traces of glue or oil left. Let them recover and dry off before you see if they can be safely released. If you are unsure of your abilities, or if the animal or bird looks injured, consult a vet. If you live in Kuala Lumpur or Selangor, you can also contact Dr. Jalila Abu of the Avian Vet Unit of UPM at 03 8946 8340.

 

4.      Buy local, organic and seasonal produce as often as you can, and eat vegetarian or vegan whenever possible, if you aren’t already vegetarian / vegan. Local and seasonal produce uses less fuel to produce and transport and therefore generates less carbon dioxide. Organic produce does not use chemical pesticides and herbicides that kill insects, birds and wildlife. Livestock and poultry farming uses a lot of land and resources, thus depriving wildlife of their habitat and food and water sources.

 

5.      Create small-scale wildlife habitats. Even in an apartment balcony, you can grow fruiting or flowering native plants that can provide food for native birds and insects. Grow pollinator-friendly plants that attract bees and butterflies, and have a compost pit or bin where bugs and earthworms are welcome to stay.

 

6.      If you live in landed property, ensure your gates and fences do not have barbed wire or broken glass tops that will cut and hurt wildlife such as squirrels, tree shrews and common palm civets. Create sufficient space to allow small animals to climb over or pass through your fence and gate safely.

 

7.      If you have pet cats or dogs, neuter and vaccinate them and keep them indoors or at least within your compound. If they do go out to play, put a safety collar with a bell on them, so that birds and small animals will be warned of your pets’ approach. Do not allow your pets to chase or catch birds, reptiles and other small animals.

 

8.      Put up a microhabitat. Bird nesting boxes, bat boxes and bird baths all can provide safe spaces for wildlife, especially during harsh weather.

 

9.      Inspire someone else to go outdoors. What is your favourite nature spot? Whether it is a hiking trail like the one in Bukit Gasing Educational Forest, or the mangroves of Kuala Selangor, offer to show someone else this spot and teach them about its importance as a wildlife habitat. People care more about things and places they have first-hand experience with.

 

10.  Join an environmental organisation such as MNS, Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT), or the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia (TCSM) and volunteer with them. Even without a background in conservation and wildlife protection, you can help man their awareness and education booths, raise funds, share posts on social media, collect signatures for petitions, attend and assist at their events and talks, and participate in short volunteer stints.

 

11.  Donate your old wildlife and conservation magazines, such as the Malaysian Naturalist, to community libraries, clinic waiting rooms and barbers and hairdressers to get other people interested in nature and wildlife.

 

12.  Contact your local MP, State Assemblyman and local councillor about wildlife issues in your area. For example, if people are feeding and poisoning macaques or trapping birds, or if palm civets and snakes are being killed by speeding vehicles, write in to your elected representative to propose solutions. These individuals are elected to serve the people, and you have the right to voice your concerns.

 

13.  Investigate your local wild patch. If there is a patch of wild land in your neighbourhood, find out more about it. Explore it safely in a group and record any bird and wildlife sightings you see. Inform the local chapters of any environmental groups and the residents’ association to try to protect the area. Report any wildlife crimes you see (e.g. mist nets to catch birds, or traps and snares to catch monkeys and wild boars) to the MYCAT Wildlife Crime Hotline at 0193564194 or to the state office of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan).

 

14.  Never purchase products made from threatened or endangered species. Avoid supporting the market in illegal wildlife trade. Boycott all traditional medicine made of wildlife parts, tortoise or turtle shell products, ivory, fur products, butterflies and beetles preserved in plastic or resin, and products made from the skin of snakes and other reptiles.

 

15.  Buy sustainable forest products. Choose bamboo or rattan furniture, and products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Avoid furniture made from wood from rainforests. Minimise your use of palm oil (found in most processed food products, snacks, soap and shampoo) as rainforests including those in Malaysia are destroyed to make way for oil palm plantations.

 

16.  Use your mobile phones for as long as possible, and recycle them once they can no longer be repaired and reused. Mobile phones contain coltan, a mineral extracted from mines in the deep forests of Congo, in central Africa, which is home to the world’s endangered lowland gorillas. The boom in the worldwide demand for mobile phones has led to the destruction of gorilla habitats and the rampant slaughter of gorillas for the illegal bushmeat trade.

 

17.  Slow down when driving. If someone else is doing the driving, advise them politely to slow down and keep an eye out for wildlife. If you are the passenger, stay alert for wildlife that may be crossing the road or birds that may be flying low. Many animals live in developed areas and this means they must navigate a landscape full of human hazards.

 

18.  Do not purchase exotic pets. Sugar gliders, slow lorises, marmosets, monkeys, parrots and other wildlife belong in the wild with their families and in their habitats. If you love them, protect their habitats. Keeping them in captivity will not keep their species safe and will only cause them stress and anguish. There are thousands of domestic animals -- chiefly dogs, cats and rabbits that have been selectively bred for centuries to live with humans and to depend on humans -- looking for good homes in animal shelters and pounds. Please consider giving them a chance of living a good life with you instead.

 

19.  Do not visit circuses, travelling zoos, petting zoos and uncertified private zoos. Keeping wildlife in captivity is neither kind nor educational. Many of these animals are caught by poachers and hunters, usually by killing the mother animal and taking the baby away. The money you pay to visit these facilities will not be used to keep the animals fed and healthy. Instead, it will usually be used to buy more animals to be used as ‘attractions’ to keep visitors coming.

 

20.  Make your home wildlife-friendly and wildlife-safe. Avoid using pesticides, herbicides, glue traps, rat poison or bleach. Put stickers or decals on windows if you find that birds keep flying into them. Keep a lid on your waste bin to stop animals from raiding your rubbish. Wash jars and containers and put the lids back on before you put them in the recycling bin or bag. Clean out the insides of cans and use a hammer to flatten the openings of cans to stop small animals from getting trapped inside or getting cut by the sharp edges of cans. Dispose of needles, pins and razor blades by wrapping them in masking tape and labelling them clearly as sharp objects. Recycle electronic waste and batteries. Avoid accepting and using plastic bags, plastic drinking straws, and polystyrene packaging. These are small actions that take getting used to, but will go a long way in preventing the unnecessary deaths of wildlife and even stray animals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green Living Advocacy: Trade Ban On Pangolins Only As Effective As Its Enforcement

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

TRADE BAN ON PANGOLINS ONLY AS EFFECTIVE AS ITS ENFORCEMENT

 

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)’s recent worldwide ban on all 8 species of pangolins has brought cheer to the conservation community.

 

Pangolins face grave threats to their survival not only from the illegal wildlife trade, but also from habitat loss and a low reproductive rate. Female pangolins produce only one offspring a year. Pangolins play an important role in the ecosystem, as their diet consists of ants and termites, and they thus provide biological pest control. It is estimated that a single pangolin consumes over 70 million ants and termites a year, and from this fact, one can imagine the role of pangolins as nature’s pest controllers and soil caretakers.

 

Pangolins, including the Sunda / Malayan Pangolin (Manis javanica) are considered the world’s most trafficked mammal and are at risk of extinction due to relentless hunting and poaching, especially for the China and Vietnam markets, where pangolin meat is considered a delicacy and a status symbol.

 

Pangolin foetus soup ostensibly improves male virility, while pangolin scales are ground into powder and used to treat rheumatism and skin disease, although like rhino horns, the scales are made of keratin, the same protein that forms human hair and fingernails, and there is no scientific or medical evidence to support the claim that it has any healing or beneficial properties.

 

It is hoped that the CITES trade ban will not only eradicate legal trade in pangolins but also reduce illegal trade by influencing consumer behaviour.

 

However, a trade ban is only as effective as its enforcement. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), numbers of wild Sunda pangolins have decreased by half in the last 15 years.

 

Studies by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, reveal that as pangolin populations are depleted in Indochina, wildlife dealers currently source pangolins from Malaysia and Indonesia. Its studies also found that the pangolin trade has spread to Sabah and Sarawak due to the decline in the pangolin population in Peninsular Malaysia.

 

According to the report by TRAFFIC, interviews with pangolin hunters in Sabah reveal that the hunters are aware of the illegality of hunting pangolins, and the critically endangered status of pangolins. However, the hunters admitted that the lucrative price made it difficult for them to stop hunting pangolins.

 

In order for the pangolin trade ban to be effective, enforcement agencies must treat wildlife trade as a serious international crime that threatens not only wildlife populations and the natural environment, but also ultimately human survival. Wildlife law enforcement agencies and prosecution bodies must cooperate with environmental organisations and monitoring bodies to eradicate corruption, stop wildlife trade, incapacitate wildlife trafficking syndicates and mete out the most severe punishments possible for wildlife offenders.

 

There are reports that live pangolins confiscated by enforcement agencies are frequently released in their weakened state without planning or monitoring, and this jeopardises their chances of survival. Thus efforts to ensure the survival of pangolins should also encompass the rehabilitation, management and subsequent release of confiscated pangolins.   

 

The international trade ban and enforcement of anti-wildlife trafficking laws must necessarily be complemented by public education and awareness efforts in order to succeed. This is where members of the public come in.

 

We can all play a role in phasing out and ending wildlife trade and preventing the extinction of pangolins. As conscientious and informed members of society, we must speak out and use our persuasive powers to influence others to reduce the consumer demand for pangolins and other wildlife. Even those of us who are not educators or volunteers can speak to others, including the younger generation, rural and indigenous communities and senior citizens who believe in the curative powers of wildlife-based traditional medicine, and educate them not only of the role of pangolins in the ecosystem, but also of the fact that the entire wildlife-based traditional medicine industry is a sham designed to enrich a few profiteers and impoverish the gullible. This is why measures such as captive breeding and farming wildlife and creating biotech substitutes for wildlife products such as rhino horns and bear bile are ineffective in ending wildlife crime – because they continue to reinforce the belief that there are curative properties to pangolin scales, rhino horn, bear bile and other wildlife products. To end the exploitation of and illegal trade in wildlife, we must be unequivocal in educating wildlife consumers that there are no benefits to consuming wildlife parts, and there is no such thing as legal or sustainable trade in wildlife.   

 

Given the popularity of travel to other East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, travellers can do their part not only by not consuming or purchasing pangolin wine, meat, scales or other wildlife products, but actively speaking up and informing tour operators and fellow travellers that they refuse to enter any establishment that offers pangolin products, bushmeat, exotic pets or other wildlife products. Travellers must vote with their money and their voice by writing in to tour agencies, national wildlife enforcement agencies, wildlife monitoring bodies and animal welfare and conservation NGOs operating in the relevant countries to complain about and report wildlife crimes. It is helpful to take photos as evidence and compile as much useful information as possible, including locations, dates and other information that will aid in tracking down and identifying wildlife offenders.

 

Crimes, including suspected crimes (e.g. a restaurant offering ‘special meat’ and ‘special dishes’) against pangolins and other wildlife in Malaysia can be reported to the 24-hour MYCAT Wildlife Crime Hotline at 019 356 4194 or report@malayantiger.net.

 

Everyone should participate in efforts and organisations that create, fund and support initiatives to not merely educate, but also empower and provide alternative and sustainable livelihoods for rural and indigenous communities to reduce and eventually eliminate their need for poaching and hunting. The fact remains that in many parts of the world, indigenous communities are forced off their ancestral lands and denied the opportunity for meaningful participation in the natural resource economy, thus driving them to hunt and poach wildlife for their economic survival. We cannot effectively protect wildlife and habitats without considering the human factor. This is where the rest of us come in as consumers, travellers, donors, sponsors, volunteers, advocates, social media users and supporters.

    

Protecting endangered species is not the role of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN) or conservation NGOs and experts alone, and the environmental responsibility of ordinary citizens and consumers goes beyond merely recycling our bottles and having shorter showers. Species conservation is our shared duty and responsibility, and pangolins and other wildlife need us as their defenders and protectors now more than ever.

 

WONG EE LYNN

COORDINATOR,
GREEN LIVING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP,
MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY

 (Photo credits: Wikipedia)

Letter to the Editor: Everyone Has A Role To Play In Ending The Exotic Pet Trade

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

EVERYONE HAS A ROLE TO PLAY IN ENDING THE EXOTIC PET TRADE

The theme for World Wildlife Day this year, which fell on March 3, is “The Future of Wildlife Is In Our Hands”. This call to action is a timely and necessary one in Malaysia, which has the unfortunate reputation as a hub for wildlife trafficking and the illegal wildlife trade. 

The Star’s recent exposé of how wildlife traders use social media for the illegal trade of protected species demonstrate that illegal wildlife trade continues to thrive in Malaysia despite the fact that the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 and Animal Welfare Act 2015 have been given statutory footing.

Judging by the comments in social media, it is clear that many Malaysians are not aware of, or are indifferent to, the suffering of wildlife traded as pets. Local celebrities and political personalities are among the individuals known to have purchased and kept protected species as companion animals. Comments from social media users are largely encouraging and envious, with many expressing the desire to purchase similar animals due to their beauty and the fact that exotic pets are seen as status symbols.

Among the reasons given by wildlife traders and owners to justify the keeping of exotic pets are as follows:

(i)               That since the animals’ natural habitats have already been destroyed, they have no homes to return to, or since their mothers have been killed, the young have no way of surviving in the wild, and therefore keeping them in captivity as companion animals is the humane thing to do.

(ii)             That the animals were bred in captivity and are therefore used to captivity and are dependent on humans.

(iii)           That they genuinely love animals and regard their exotic pets as family members, and therefore oppose any attempt to restrict their ‘right’ to acquire and keep these wild animals or to remove existing exotic pets from their care.

(iv)            That there is virtually no difference between keeping wildlife and keeping dogs, cats and other domestic animals as companion animals.

(v)             That keeping wildlife in captivity and as pets can prevent a species from going extinct.

However, there are many scientifically-proven reasons why wildlife should not be in captivity and why the wildlife pet trade is a threat to biodiversity, ecosystems and human health and safety.

The wildlife trade threatens both biodiversity and individual animals being traded. Nor is wildlife trade a minor problem, with only a handful of people keeping wildlife as exotic pets. The Wildlife Conservation Society reports that reports that the threat of extinction of wildlife species due to the wildlife trade is a very real and immediate problem, as the wildlife trade, which is valued to be approximately USD8 billion annually, is surpassed in scale only by the illegal trade in drugs and arms.

Many exotic species advertised as ‘captive bred’ are actually poached from the wild, since DNA testing cannot reveal whether an animal was raised in captivity or in the wild, and most consumers and laypersons are unable to tell the difference and uninterested in finding out, as long as they get to acquire a particular animal as an exotic pet. Captive breeding of wildlife is an expensive and frequently unsuccessful business, and often traders and poachers find it easier and cheaper to capture animals from their native habitats and then pass them off as captive-bred to assuage the guilt of customers.

Wild animals, especially wild cat hybrids such as Bengal cats (i.e. Asian leopard cat and domestic cat hybrids) and serval and caracal hybrids are unsuited to indoor life and have been known to attack and seriously injure their human handlers and other pets. Even if captive bred, hybrid cats that escape or are allowed to roam become prolific hunters, killing native birds and wildlife and smaller mammals including pet dogs, cats and rabbits.

Pet snakes, which are frequently abandoned once their human handlers tire of them, also end up killing birds and other wildlife. Released or abandoned turtles, including the red-eared slider turtle, may carry the salmonella virus and threaten the health of humans and other species. Any released or escaped introduced species will compete with native species for food and territory and cause imbalance in the local ecology.

Many animals die of shock, stress, illness and injury during capture, transportation, transit and captivity. Baby turtles are sealed shut in their shells for transportation. Slow lorises have their teeth and claws clipped without anaesthesia. Many die due to a lack of treatment, and slow loris populations in the wild are in rapid decline due to the high demand for slow lorises as pets after popular YouTube videos show them being kept as amusing companions. All 8 species of slow lorises are now threatened, and the Javan slow loris is now one of 25 the most endangered primates worldwide.

Birds, especially parrots, are sedated and have their beaks cut or taped up, legs bound and wings clipped or tied. Most are sedated and stuffed into bags or cardboard mailer tubes. The Animal Law Coalition reports that 60% of wild-caught birds do not survive to reach their destinations.

Contrary to the claim that people who acquire exotic pets do so because they love the said animals and are able to care for them, many exotic pets often end up being released, surrendered to zoos and animal shelters, abandoned or unintentionally killed due to ignorance and neglect. The Humane Society reports that many pet snakes do not live past one year due to inadequate nutrition. Many animal welfare organisations and veterinarians can also attest to the fact that exotic pets, especially small animals such as hedgehogs, chinchillas and chipmunks, die from being improperly and roughly handled, especially by children.

Keeping wildlife as pets can also endanger human health and safety. Scorpions, snakes and other venomous or poisonous animals are unlike domestic mammals and do not enjoy human contact. There are many reports of people being killed or severely injured by their pet snakes and scorpions. Wild cats, sun bears and macaques can maul and cause grievous injury to their human handlers. Monkeys, including macaques, can carry and spread viruses to humans, including the Herpes-B virus. Lizards and turtles carry the salmonella virus, which can be fatal to humans. Birds, especially parrots, can spread parrot fever and pneumonia, especially through the inhalation of their dry droppings in a cage or aviary.

The only true way to show love and admiration for a particular species is to protect their habitats and wild populations and observe them in their natural environments. Contrary to the popular argument by exotic pet enthusiasts that they can ‘learn’ a lot about a species by acquiring and keeping them, there is not much to be learned from keeping wild animals indoors confined to small tanks, cages and enclosures, away from members of their own species. Cats and dogs are different from exotic pets in that they have become dependent on humans for their physical, social and emotional needs through 5,000 – 30,000 years of selective breeding and evolution. Even so, cats, dogs and other domestic animals still need exercise, outdoor time, opportunities to play and engage in behavior natural to their species, and the companionship of their own kind. This need is even greater in wild animals that undergo extreme stress from being confined and handled by humans.

People who acquire exotic animals usually do so for their own egos and short-term enjoyment, not because they genuinely care for the welfare and continuance of the species. They have no realistic plans on how to rehabilitate their exotic pets, return them to their native countries or environment or reintroduce them into the wild. Numerous studies, including by the UK Royal Society, have shown that wild populations are less likely to mate with a captive member of the species, and as such the claim that the captive breeding of exotic pets can restore wildlife populations has no scientific merit.

Despite the existence of laws such as the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, there are very few regulations in place making it difficult for people to purchase, acquire, or keep exotic animals, especially when proper licenses have been obtained. Also, the international wildlife trade involves a multi-million dollar organised crime network, and poorly-funded, shorthanded government agencies are no match for wildlife traders. Bribery, corruption and plain incompetence makes it difficult for many developing countries to stop the illegal wildlife trade.

Wildlife conservation groups and enforcement agencies in Malaysia rely heavily on ordinary citizens and travelers to be their eyes and ears. However, due to manpower concerns, not all reports can be acted on expediently. It may seem blindingly obvious to social media users that enforcement agencies should just ‘call up the number on the Facebook page and catch the offenders’. However, wildlife traders often stay one step ahead and make their movements difficult to trace by using unregistered prepaid mobile phone numbers and ensuring payment is made in advance before the animal changes hands.

In order to aid conservation groups and enforcement agencies, those who wish to report wildlife crime must be vigilant and relay accurate information, such as the species, address, photographic and documentary evidence and contact information, as well as be available to be contacted. Reports can be made through Perhilitan’s official website or through their Careline at 1300-80-10-10, or to the 24-Hour NGO-run Wildlife Crime Hotline at 019 356 4194.

As consumers and social media users, we must remember that our actions have consequences. Conservation groups and enforcement agencies need our assistance, support and awareness in order to be able to execute their responsibilities effectively.

When we click ‘like’ on or share photos and videos of wildlife being kept as pets and in captivity, we are condoning, enabling and encouraging the wildlife and exotic pet trade. We are normalising the practice of poaching, abusing, exploiting and confining wildlife. Instead, we should raise awareness and in our social media comments, draw attention to the threats to wildlife populations, and other animal welfare and safety concerns. Monkeys and apes that appear to be grinning or yawning are not trying to entertain humans, but are showing aggression and fear. For every slow loris holding an umbrella or a toy, 7-8 others probably died during capture and transportation. We should therefore advise friends and family against purchasing or acquiring exotic pets, and persuade them to adopt from local animal shelters or to visit and support sanctuaries and rescue organisations instead.

Nature-lovers who enjoy watching and photographing wildlife must take extra care not to unwittingly disclose the location of endangered species, including the nests of birds and location of trapdoor spiders, frogs, scorpions and other small animals on social media, which could lead poachers and wildlife traders to them.

We vote every day with our money, and so as people who claim to love animals and the environment, we should not purchase exotic pets or wildlife products such as elephant ivory or crocodile and snake leather. We should not patronise circuses, petting zoos and amusement parks which keep wildlife in captivity or harm and exploit animals. We should avoid shopping at pet stores that sell exotic pets, and should lodge reports on the sales of wildlife to Perhilitan or wildlife conservation groups that can assist in investigating and acting on our reports. 

Ending the wildlife trade is not the role of government enforcement agencies alone. The loss of biodiversity, ecological imbalance and threats to human and animal health and safety affect all of us. We all have a role to play in protecting wildlife and reducing the demand for exotic pets. Keeping wildlife as exotic pets should not be a status symbol, but a symbol of self-deception, ignorance, selfishness and vanity.

WONG EE LYNN

COORDINATOR,

GREEN LIVING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP,

MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY

Letter to the Editor: Highway Construction Will Hasten Wildlife Extinction

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION WILL HASTEN WILDLIFE EXTINCTION

 

Malaysian social media was set abuzz in the past few days over photographs of a displaced Sumatran serow (Capricornis sumatraensis) in a residential neighbourhood in Ukay Perdana, not far from Taman Rimba Ampang which has recently been closed to the public to facilitate the construction of the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE).

 

Although the sighting of the rare mammal constituted proof of the existence of serows in the forests of Selangor, concerned citizens, environmental activists and wildlife experts expressed their fear that this incident is only the beginning in the irreversible process of destruction of wildlife habitats and the continued displacement, endangerment and local extinction of wildlife once construction of the EKVE begins in earnest. The Sumatran serow is already described in the IUCN Red List as being vulnerable, endangered and in significant decline due to overhunting and habitat loss.

 

Wildlife sighting in urban areas is not cute. It is a sign that habitats are destroyed and fragmented, and wildlife are unable to find food and water, establish territory or reproduce. Wild animals wandering into urban areas are at risk of being poached, poisoned, harassed by people or domestic animals and injured and killed by motor vehicles.

 

Environmental organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund, Forest Stewardship Council and Global Forest Watch have long reported that road and highway construction play a large role in causing habitat and biodiversity loss and species extinction. In their 2002 paper “What Drives Tropical Deforestation?”, scientists Helmut Geist and Eric Lambin reported that overland transport infrastructure, that is, road and highway construction, accounted for 72% of tropical deforestation. Highway and road construction create opportunities for unscrupulous loggers, poachers, developers, vandals, and profiteers to enter into, plunder and destroy previously inaccessible forested areas. Road construction also kills animals and plants directly, and breaks up habitats into fragments too small to sustain wildlife populations.

 

Although the Selangor State Government claims that there is a list of conditions drawn up by the Drainage and Irrigation Department, Public Works Department, and MPAJ’s Planning Department as guidelines in the construction and management of the said expressway, none of these mitigation measures have been made available for public viewing and feedback, and the bewildered and displaced serow is a strong indication that the existing mitigation measures, if any, are insufficient to protect wildlife populations.

 

The extinction of endangered species such as the Sumatran serow is just one of the probable adverse environmental impacts of proceeding with the construction of the EKVE. The construction of the EKVE, which will cut through the Selangor State Park and other forest reserves, will compromise air quality, water resources and other ecosystem services.

 

The Selangor State Government needs to honour its initial promise during the last General Elections to halt or terminate all proposed highway projects. No mitigation measure, wildlife corridor or wildlife barrier can sufficiently protect human and environmental health or wildlife populations in an environmentally-sensitive area such as the Selangor State Park and Ampang and Ulu Gombak forest reserves. The EKVE project needs to be scrapped with immediate effect before further devastation occurs. Despite popular belief, tropical rainforests are not a renewable resource. Old-growth, biologically diverse rainforests cannot just be replanted or replaced. Once logged, it takes decades and centuries for forests to return to their previous status as carbon sinks and water catchment areas. The State Government and MB must cease paying lip service to the ideas of environmental sustainability and social justice, and start taking actions consistent with their claims and election manifesto.

 

WONG EE LYNN

COORDINATOR,
GREEN LIVING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP,
MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY