Malaysia 'losing battle' to save tigers

Yahoo News 15 Jul 09;

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysia is losing its battle to save its dwindling population of wild tigers, a conservation coalition warned Wednesday after a series of raids that netted tiger carcasses and bones.

"It is clearly time to admit that we are fast losing the battle to save our tigers to an army of smugglers and poachers intent on killing every last one," said the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MyCat).

"They enter our protected areas with ease, and illegally trap, kill and export our wildlife with little fear," said the alliance which includes WWF Malaysia and watchdog Traffic Southeast Asia.

MyCat demanded that Malaysian authorities take action to stop the illegal trade in tiger parts.

It listed a series of seizures of dismembered tigers in recent months, from the Thai-Laos border right down to Malaysia itself, including three kilograms (six-and-a-half pounds) of tiger bones found in northeastern Kelantan state last month.

The coalition said that investigations into the seized tiger parts found that some were from sub-species not found in the wild in Asia, including the Siberian tiger.

It said the findings suggested that captive tigers, such as those found in zoos and theme parks, were finding their way into the illegal wildlife trade where they are butchered for traditional medicine.

"Swift and severe action must follow," MyCat said.

"If we cannot stop captive tigers from government-supervised institutions from being illegally traded, there is little hope of protecting wild tigers," it said.

Malaysia is estimated to have just 500 tigers still living in the wild.

Thai probe shows tiger parts came from Malaysia
Hilary Chiew, The Star 11 Jul 09;

PETALING JAYA: Investigations by Thai wildlife authorities have confirmed that some of the tiger parts confiscated in Thailand last year belonged to the Malayan tiger, a specie found only in Peninsula Malay-sia.

Dr Suchitra Changtragoon from the Forest Genetics and Biotech-nology Group said genetic fingerprinting revealed that the parts came from three species of tigers — the Indochinese, Amur and Malayan.

The group comes under the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department of Thai-land.

The group investigated 17 meat samples obtained from the seizure of animal parts early this year.

Twelve were found to be tiger meat, three were leopard meat and the rest were meat from the clouded leopard.

Of the 12 tiger samples, five were from Malayan tigers, five were from Indochinese tigers and the remaining two were from Amur tigers.

The findings were published in a scientific journal made available to The Star. The report is also published on the department’s website (http://www.dnp.go.th).

In January this year, three tiger carcasses, weighing up to 250kg, were seized from a truck passing through Hua Hin while in February, two tiger and one panther carcasses were recovered from a truck in Pattani.

In both cases, police said they were believed to have come from Malaysia and the parts were bound for Laos which is believed to be a transit point for Vietnam and China.

Most of the big cats had been cut in half and their organs and pelts removed.

When contacted, Department of Wildlife and National Park’s (Perhi-litan) Saharudin Anan said the results were not conveyed to Malaysia.

“This is news to me. We had requested through the official channels when it was reported that those seizures included the Malayan tiger.

“But until today we are still waiting for the results,” said the law and enforcement division director.

Smuggling of tigers from Malaysia
WWF 16 Jul 09;

Petaling Jaya, 15 July 2009 - News that a number of the tiger parts seized in Thailand earlier this year included those of the Malayan Tiger is depressing, but hardly surprising.

From Changlun, near the Malaysian-Thai border to Nongkai province, near the Thai-Lao border, dismembered tigers have been stacking up in seizure after seizure around the region.

The first two cases this year saw Thai authorities confiscate 250kg of tiger parts and then, 11 dead tigers. The most recent case involved the seizure of 3 kg of tiger bones in Jeli, Kelantan last month by the Malaysian Wildlife and National Parks Department.

Seizures were also reported in May and June throughout the region.

It’s clearly time to admit that we are fast losing the battle to save our tigers to an army of smugglers and poachers intent on killing every last one.

They enter our protected areas with ease, and illegally trap, kill and export our wildlife with little fear. The fact that they are targeting an animal as large, recognizable and iconic as the tiger, suggests that this is a calculated risk that often pays off.

So do we fight back or sit back?

The Malaysian Nature Society, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society and WWF-Malaysia, which make up the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT), will step up awareness efforts, intelligence gathering and sharing, and will continue to support enforcement agencies working to stamp out illegal trade in wildlife.

But in this case, the most critical step must be taken by the Wildlife Department and the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment – to find out where in Malaysia these tigers came from.

Of the 12 tiger samples tested, five were from Malayan tigers, which are native to Malaysia. The rest consisted of two sub-species not naturally occurring but found in zoos and theme parks here - the Indochinese tiger and Siberian tiger.

This begs the question: How do Siberian and Indochinese tigers end up in a seizure from Malaysia?

The Wildlife Department will be able to ascertain, with its inventory of captive tigers in the country, against which it can compare the Thai DNA results.

And if the evidence points to captive tigers leaking into the illegal wildlife trade, then swift and severe action must follow.

If we cannot stop captive tigers from government-supervised institutions from being illegally traded, there is little hope of protecting wild tigers.

This is a joint statement by the Malaysian Nature Society, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society - Malaysia Programme and WWF-Malaysia, which form the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT).