Outrage over ‘army website’ encouraging illegal hunting

Syed Jaymal Zahiid | June 6, 2012

One hunter even boasted of his kills despite being aware of its illegality.

KUALA LUMPUR: Animal rights group Traffic claimed today there was an alleged widespread of illegal hunting by army personnel who even boasted of killing protected species.

Traffic legal officer Shenaaz Khan said the purported hunting also took place in protected forest reserves like Temengor in Perak, in an area barred from any hunting activities.

Species killed include the Serow, barking deer, mouse deer and Sambar deer. The Sambar and Barking Deer cannot be hunted after a moratorium on hunting of these two species was enforced in 2009 and is valid for six years.

Meanwhile under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, the Serow is a totally protected species and cannot be hunted without a special permit which can only be issued by the Environment Minister.
Ilegal hunting of the Serow is punishable with a fine of between RM100,000 to RM500,000 or imprisonment of up to five years.

Shenaaz said she had discovered the information from a website for military buffs called Panggilan Pertiwi where a discussion thread of the hunting activities was found.

Arrogance
In the thread, a forum participant by the alias “Marker November” whose avatar picture was of him, his rifle and and a dead dear on his lap, spoke extensively on his hunting experiences including locations and hunting methods for specific species.

Some of the methods mentioned were in clear violation of hunting rules, claimed Sheenaz. The hunter also admitted to being aware of the illegality of his activities.

“You can see the arrogance (of the hunter). He was clearly aware that it is illegal but he did it nevertheless,” she told FMT.

This included breaching hunting period in accordance to legal provisions and building “hides” which are structures built to enable hunters to shoot high from a vantage point.

According to the Traffic lawyer, the discussion thread had since been removed after a police report was lodged but there are no indicators that action would be taken against the perpetrators or assurance that the authorities are doing anything to stop illegal hunting.

Sheenaz said this exposes the weaknesses from the part of the Wildlife Agency in enforcing laws to curb illegal hunting and urged the authorities to buck up and urged investigation on the information provided.

 

PET+BLOGSPOT is the ONLINE BLOG of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association or Petpositive. Our stories are CURRENT, ACCURATE and RELIABLE. We offer both local and foreign news on animals, disability and the elderly. PET+BLOGSPOT was first established in October 2007. Our hits since then are now 150,000 and ever increasing! PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Kindly note that views expressed in PET+BLOGSPOT are not necessarily those of PETPOSITIVE. You may also visit our Webpage by browsing: www.petpositive.com.my You can also find us in Facebook under PETPOSITIVE EMPOWERMENT. Please sign up as a FOLLOWER of this Blog if you haven't done so already in order to show us your kind support for our work. Thank you!