The Star 23 May 12;
KLUANG: The death of a female elephant in Labis has raised concerns among the orang asli villagers as to whether the animal was hunted down by poachers or killed for encroaching a plantation.
The villagers said the elephant was an endangered species and its capture should have been properly handled by the authorities.
The elephant was found dead with a stomach wound by a Kampung Punan resident on Monday.
Village committee member Rafie Yukin said a teenager was on his way to Kampung Peta when he stumbled upon the elephant which was still alive.
“He returned to inform us about the injured elephant. But when we got there, the elephant had already died,” he said yesterday, adding that there were bloodstains on the animal.
Rafie said the state Wildlife Protection and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) came to study the elephant before burying it.
“The villagers are saddened by the elephant’s death as they have a lot of reverence for it.
“It could have been shot or poisoned by poachers. It might have also been killed by workers from a plantation, which is very near the forest reserve,” he added.
Kluang OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Majid Ali said a police report was lodged on the matter.
He added that Perhilitan had also taken blood and hair samples from the elephant for investigation.
State Perhilitan director Siti Hawa Yatim refused to comment on the matter.
However, a department source said Perhilitan was investigating the cause of the elephant’s death, adding that it had to be buried to prevent the spread of diseases.
State International Trade and Industry, Energy, Water, Communications and Environment Committee chairman Tan Kok Hong said the authorities were concerned over the death of a protected species.
Charge those who killed elephant, Johor govt told
The Star 24 May 12;
JOHOR BARU: The state government wants the perpetrators who killed a wild elephant to be charged.
Johor International Trade and Industry, Energy, Water, Communications and Environment Committee chairman Tan Kok Hong said it was inhumane and illegal for anyone to kill elephants, which were protected under the law.
He said the authorities should prosecute those responsible for shooting dead the female elephant near a forest reserve in Labis.
“If anyone feels that the elephants are being a nuisance to their crops, they should alert the Wildlife Department to help relocate them. We have successfully relocated elephants from Bekok, Labis and Jemaluang to sanctuaries in other places,” said Tan.
“We have also erected electrical fencing in certain parts of Johor to prevent elephants from entering plantations and destroying crops.”
He said he was awaiting a full report from the state wildlife department on the incident, in which the elephant was found dead with a stomach wound by a Kampung Punan resident on Monday.
State Wildlife Protection and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director Siti Hawa Yatim said the death was being investigated under the Wildlife Conservation Act. “A gunshot wound was found and samples have been taken for tests,” she said.
