Yahoo News 28 May 10;
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – A Malaysian wildlife park came under fire Sunday from wildlife activists over a video posted on YouTube showing an apparently drugged tiger being prodded and poked for the amusement of visitors.
The two-minute clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5ACVn73YL0) shows the tiger lying on a slab at a wildlife park in the Afamosa resort while a handler invites visitors walking around it to take pictures with the animal.
The handler then prods and pokes the big cat to force it to pose and even uses his knee to jab its head into an upright pose for a photograph.
"This is horrible and a disgrace that an animal is treated in this fashion. We must stop such abuse and the perpetrators must be punished," Friends of the Earth Malaysia president S.M. Idris told AFP.
Wildlife trade watchdog TRAFFIC criticised the park's use of captive tigers for entertainment.
"If they acquire tigers for this use, it gives Malaysia a very bad reputation as it shows the park is using the tigers for entertainment instead of educational purposes," senior officer Kanitha Krishnasamy told AFP.
Afamosa resort general manager Allan Chee denied the tiger was abused at the park, which has more than 20 tigers and numerous other species.
"There was no abuse to the tiger, the tiger was just drowsy and lazy after being fed and so was being prodded by the handler to get into position," he told AFP.
He said the park in southern Malacca state prided itself on its animal performances, with elephants playing football and others allowed to roam freely.
However, state wildlife and national parks head Abdul Rahim Othman told AFP the park had been warned over having such photo sessions with animals which can be viewed as abuse.
"We have warned them and will carry out further investigations and if they continue to violate our warnings, we can take action against them including pulling their licences," he said.
Just 3,200 tigers are believed to remain in the wild, down from an estimated 100,000 a century ago.
Uproar over abused tiger claim
The Star/Asia News Network Asia One 22 May 10;
MALACCA - A 500ha resort in Alor Gajah, with its own safari, has attracted the attention of animal lovers and authorities here over a video clip on the Internet allegedly showing the abuse of a drugged tiger during a photography session.
The two-minute clip first appeared on YouTube in February with the title "Tiger Being Abused For Money."
It shows what seems to be a heavily sedated tiger on a raised platform and occasionally being propped up by its handler.
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The recording also includes an audio recording of an unknown person questioning, in Cantonese, the alleged mistreatment of the tiger.
The person also mentions that she was told that patrons had to fork out RM15 to pose for photographs with the tiger.
When contacted, Malacca Society Against the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) president Vincent Low said he was not shocked by such allegations as they had received complaints about the resort previously.
"It is a wild animal and should not be subjected to such treatment. Not only is it inhumane to treat the tiger in such a manner, it is also dangerous for patrons," he said.
A Famosa Resort general manager Allan Chee denied the abuse allegation.
"There is no evidence that the tiger was drugged or abused by its handler," he said, adding that he was aware of the video clip and had received numerous inquiries from the public.
Chee said the animal was a captive-bred tiger and was considered very tame and comfortable around humans.
"Tigers are nocturnal and those here are very well fed and become very lazy and lethargic during the mid-morning. So, it is natural that the handlers had to use extra coaxing to move the heavy tiger into position," he said.
He also denied the resort charged RM15 for patrons to take photographs with the tiger.
"We only charge patrons if they ask us to photograph them with our instant camera," he said.
A check revealed the resort had removed all negative comments from its Facebook fan page.
It is learnt that WWF Malaysia had also received numerous complaints over the video and had advised those concerned to take it up with the Wildlife and National Parks Department.
It is learnt that SPCA had submitted its recommendation to the department to ensure that animals at the resort were not abused.
