How turtle eggs ended up as dinner is food for thought

The Star 18 Mar 09;

SAHABAT Alam Malaysia (SAM) is disheartened to read that dinner guests were served with turtle eggs at a weekend police dinner function in Kuching “SFC to probe turtle eggs on menu” (The Star, March 4).

These were not ordinary guests but senior government officials who are entrusted to upkeep and uphold the law but had no qualms when consuming the eggs.

Marine turtles are listed as totally protected under Sarawak’s Wildlife Protection Ordinance. As such, SAM fails to understand how these eggs ended up on a dinner table.

There should be respect for the rule of law particularly when Malaysia is a signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding on Asean Sea Turtle Conservation and Protection. A country which has respect for the rule of law cannot give excuses or justification for consuming this culinary delights under whatever circumstances.

The incident can best be described as a stigma in Sarawak’s past good record of turtle conservation efforts.

The Sarawak Forestry Corporation, for instance, has played a major role in initiating a turtle adoption programme to create turtle habitats, heighten awareness of the importance of conservation. But all this has come to naught with the recent dinner.

It should serve as a wake-up call to the corporation that it must not be complacent and need to improve their performance in deterring and eradicating the sale of turtle eggs.

Inaction on its part in enforcing the existing laws had emboldened certain quarters to take advantage of the situation.

This is an issue of grave concern and SAM would like to see the law forcefully enforced on the guilty parties. Those responsible for the distribution and supplying of the turtle eggs should be brought to book.

SAM urges the Sarawak Forestry Department and the police to conduct an in-depth investigation into the matter, without fear or favour and the results made known to the public.

Those in violation of the law should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Otherwise, it is feared that the consumption of turtle eggs will carry on and turtle conservation efforts become futile.

S.M.MOHD IDRIS,
President,
Sahabat Alam Malaysia,
Penang.

SFC to probe turtle eggs on menu
The Star 4 Mar 09;

KUCHING: The Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) is investigating reports that turtle eggs were served at a function recently despite a ban on their consumption.

SFC enforcement officers are believed to be investigating the matter after photographs of the eggs on dinner tables appeared in the local media yesterday.

SFC also reminded the public that it

was illegal to sell or eat turtle eggs in Sarawak.

The ban on turtle egg trade and consumption is one of the conservation measures put in place to protect the reptiles.

The survival rate of turtle hatchlings is very low, with only one in every 1,000 surviving into adulthood.

In addition, all marine turtles are listed as totally protected animals under Sarawak’s Wildlife Protection Ordinance.

Under the ordinance, it is an offence to hunt, kill, capture or sell any totally protected animal or to possess any of their parts.

The offence carries penalties ranging from fines of RM25,000 to RM50,000 and two to five years’ imprisonment.