Best of our wild blogs: 29 Jul 15

Herps in the Sky? – Part 1
Herpetological Society of Singapore

Nesting bulbul: 3. Adult feeding 5 days old chick
Bird Ecology Study Group

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Progress on haze monitoring system slow: Balakrishnan

NEO CHAI CHIN Today Online 29 Jul 15;

SINGAPORE — Progress on the regional haze monitoring system has been very slow, but concrete steps can be taken through information sharing between governments, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said today (July 28).

Given that Malaysian and Indonesian authorities have raised legal difficulties in making land concession maps public, Dr Balakrishnan said he has “counter-proposed” an exchange of information on a government-to-government basis. Concession maps show the tracts of land companies have been allowed to develop.

The haze monitoring system was adopted by five Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) members — Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand — nearly two years ago in October 2013, but is lacking the concession maps that, together with satellite images of hot spots, would help track down parties responsible for transboundary haze.

Dr Balakrishnan, who was in Jakarta for a meeting of the ASEAN Sub Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution, said the risk of haze remains if the El Nino weather phenomenon brings about prolonged drier and warmer weather in the second half of this year.

“If we can establish this system in which we can directly exchange this information, facilitate investigations, adduce evidence that can be offered in the court of law, I think we’ll increase considerably the accountability for companies that start such fires,” he said.

Errant companies could be in breach of both Indonesian laws and Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. “So even while we try to overcome the hurdles with the publication of concession maps, I’m hoping we can still move and take concrete steps on a bilateral government-to-government basis,” he added. Yesterday’s meeting was constructive “but there’s still a lot more that we need to do”.

The Indonesian authorities have stepped up efforts on the ground and there have been fewer hot spots in the first six months of this year, he noted.

Separately, Singapore-headquartered pulp and paper giant Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited launched an initiative today to prevent fires in nine villages in Riau province in Sumatra. The programme, led by its operations arm and done with partners such as non-governmental groups, includes community incentives to not burn, air quality monitoring and sustainable agricultural alternatives. APRIL’s manufacturing operations are in Pangkalan Kerinci in Riau.

Singapore proposes information sharing with ASEAN to tackle haze
Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan says he hopes that through the process of "ground truthing", the Indonesian government will share the identity of the company responsible for a hotspot.
Saifulbahri Ismail Channel NewsAsia 28 Jul 15;

JAKARTA: The Republic has proposed to ASEAN member states that information be shared on a government-to-government basis as part of efforts to tackle transboundary haze in the region.

Speaking at the end of a one-day ASEAN meeting on transboundary haze in Jakarta on Tuesday (Jul 28), Environment Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishan said this information can help confirm the presence and severity of a fire after satellite pictures indicate a hotspot.

Dr Balakrishnan said he hopes that through this process of "ground truthing", the Indonesian government will then share the identity of the company responsible for that hotspot. “So if we can establish this system in which we can directly exchange information, facilitate investigation, produce evidence which can be offered in the court of law, we will increase considerably the accountability for the companies that started the fires,” he said.

Dr Balakrishnan made this proposal to Indonesia at the meeting after seeing "very slow progress" on the ASEAN Haze Monitoring System (AHMS).

ASEAN member states - namely Indonesia and Malaysia - have been reluctant to share land concession maps citing security concerns. The concession maps are a key component required by the system.

Indonesia has said it will study the proposal and Dr Balakrishnan said he is convinced that the current Indonesian government is serious on overcoming transboundary haze in the region.

During the meeting, Thailand offered to host a workshop to draft a roadmap on ASEAN cooperation towards haze pollution control next year. The Thai government has said it hopes to promote the sharing of experiences and lessons learned to achieve the goal of haze-free ASEAN by 2020.

- CNA/dl/al

South-east Asia sees little progress on haze as fires rage
Straits Times 28 Jul 15;

JAKARTA (AFP) - South-east Asian nations meeting on Tuesday to discuss the problem of haze that shrouds the region's skies every year made little progress, as the number of smog-belching forest fires was on the rise in Indonesia.

Environment ministers from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Singapore met in Jakarta to discuss the issue.

The haze mostly comes from forest fires on Indonesia's western island of Sumatra, many of which are deliberately lit to clear land for plantations.

Pressure to resolve the problem has increased since 2013 when South-east Asia suffered its worst smog crisis for more than a decade, with haze levels hitting a record high in Singapore.

Nevertheless, collaborative efforts by the 10-member Asean to resolve the problem have been slow, with Singapore's calls for the adoption of a regional haze monitoring system making little headway.

The proposed system would use satellite data and maps of forest concessions to identify firms responsible for fires, and use this evidence to prosecute them.

But Indonesia and Malaysia, which is also home to palm oil plantations, have been reluctant to provide such maps.

There were no concrete developments at the two-day Jakarta meeting, prompting Singaporean Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan to lament "very slow" progress despite many meetings.

"The human, social and economic cost of haze in our part of the world has been too high, and been going on far too long," he told reporters.

Singapore has passed legislation allowing authorities to fine companies that cause or contribute to haze, regardless of whether they have an office in the city-state. But officials say they still need evidence from the ground.

The number of fires on Sumatra rose steeply in recent days, with state-run Antara news agency reporting over 300 "hotspots" - either forest fires or areas likely soon to go up in flames - detected on the island at the weekend.

Ministers agree to share hot spot info
But Jakarta again fails to agree to map-sharing request from S'pore
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Straits Times 29 Jul 15;

Environment ministers from five Asean nations agreed yesterday to sharing information on a government-to-government basis that would help identify plantation companies on whose land fires start and cause haze.

The agreement, however, fell far short of the longstanding request by Singapore that Indonesia publicly share maps on agricultural concessions owned by oil palm, timber and other commodity companies, which are often blamed for starting the fires, particularly in neighbouring Sumatra.

"We decided to share hot spot information first - to make such data reach all parties as quickly as possible," said Indonesian Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar at a joint press conference after the meeting in Jakarta.

Representatives from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Thailand attended the meeting.

Asean previously agreed to create a regional haze-monitoring system, with a computer system developed by Singapore that uses satellite images and hot-spot data to pinpoint fires that lead to haze.

Development of the system has progressed slowly as it awaits the concession maps from Indonesia and Malaysia to identify which companies are responsible for the land plots where fires occur.

Plantation companies have often been blamed for some of the fires that burn on their concessions although, in some cases, the fires are started outside their lands or by farmers who are encroaching or living on their concessions. Many large plantation companies also have fire crews to protect their oil palm trees, timber or other assets.

One problem is that these companies generally do not share concession boundary data and the Indonesian government has struggled to create accurate concession maps.

Another issue is that Indonesian laws ban the government from sharing concession maps, Ms Siti said.

The information on hot-spot locations, though, would reveal the truth and help with the investigation and prosecution of errant companies, said Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

"It would allow us to do 'ground truthing', meaning, if we see a hot spot on a satellite that is verified on the ground, we could, hopefully, exchange information on which companies are responsible for that piece of ground on which the fire has started," Dr Balakrishnan said at the joint press conference.

Singapore passed legislation in August last year that would allow criminal and civil prosecution against Singaporean as well as foreign companies involved in illegal burning outside Singapore. But regulators would still need evidence and cooperation from the authorities on the ground.

Dr Balakrishnan also said he was convinced Indonesian President Joko Widodo was serious about overcoming the haze problem. He noted that the number of hot spots this year has been much lower. But he lamented the slow progress of the Asean haze talks.

"Despite multiple meetings... the progress has been very slow," he told reporters in Jakarta.

"I would say this is a problem that has gone on for too long. We need to solve it now. We are not moving as quickly as I would have hoped but nevertheless, there is some progress and, more importantly, there are signs of progress on the ground, certainly in Sumatra, and particularly in Riau."

Singapore upset by RI’s haze
Hans Nicholas Jong, The Jakarta Post 29 Jul 15;

While President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was on a state visit to Singapore on Tuesday, on the same day in Jakarta a Singaporean minister expressed his country’s growing impatience with Indonesia’s slow progress in controlling the annual forest fires.

Speaking during a meeting in Jakarta with five ASEAN country members about the haze issue, Singapore Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that the goal of a haze-free ASEAN by 2020 was not good enough for Singaporeans as the country had suffered too long from the air pollution.

“As far as Singaporeans are concerned, we want a haze-free ASEAN now, not in 2020. We want it now. The human, social and economic cost of haze in our part of the world has been too high and been going on for far too long,” he said in front of his counterparts, including Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar.

The meeting was the 17th of its kind held by the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on transboundary haze pollution, attended by senior officials from five Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Thailand.

Annual cross-border air pollution caused by uncontrolled land clearing on Indonesian plantations has been a source of discontent among Indonesia’s neighbours since the 1990s.

In 2013, smoky haze wrought by forest fires in Indonesia spread to Singapore and Malaysia, causing Singapore’s worst air pollution in 16 years.

This year, the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned that the dry season could last longer than in previous years because of a weather phenomenon known as El Niño, which affects temperatures and rainfall.

A total of 4,763 hotspots, indicating wildfires, were detected across Indonesia during the period between Jan. 1 and July 23 this year.

Singapore has repeatedly urged Indonesia to provide data on companies and concession maps to enable it to act against plantation firms that allow slash-and-burn farming, saying that it will send an unequivocal signal that ASEAN countries are prepared to be transparent and hold individual companies accountable for their actions.

“Despite multiple meetings, to be honest with you the progress is very slow. The key hurdle is due to the separate regulatory and legislative systems in Malaysia and Indonesia, which until today have prevented them from openly publishing the concession maps for the ASEAN Haze Monitoring System [AHMS],” Vivian said.

The AHMS is a computerised system developed by Singapore in 2012 to enhance hotspot monitoring by combining hotspot data, high-resolution satellite pictures and land concession maps.

Minister Siti, however, countered Vivian’s statement by saying Indonesia would fulfill Singapore’s demand for the list of companies.

“In Indonesia, we have a law on public information access. In that law, there are some documents [that could be published], except for those that have to be kept secret. So we haven’t been able to say that all data is legitimate. We have to verify it first. We still have to [share it] through the G2G. We’re not using a multilateral approach in this case,” Siti said.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Siti said she could not understand what the Singaporean minister meant by saying that Indonesia was too slow in making progress.

“I don’t know what he’s saying, in which time frame, because as you’ve mentioned, this is already the 17th agenda,” the minister responded.

Siti emphasized that the government was obliged to protect the environment not for other countries, but for its own people. “You know what we are doing is not only for other people, but it is in our Constitution that we have to provide a good environment for our people. So in anycase we have to do [it].”

Faizal Parish, senior technical advisor for the ASEAN Peatland Forests Project (APFP) and director of the Malaysia-based Global Environment Centre, said Singapore should be more sensitive to other countries’ problems.

“It’s a sensitive issue because people think Singapore will be [the environmental] police for Asia who will prosecute all companies [regardless of their nationalities],” he said on Tuesday. “But it will be unwise for Singapore to prosecute
Indonesians.”

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Pair receive awards for smart farming solutions

Madeleine Lim Straits Times 28 Jul 15;

SINGAPORE - Two Singaporeans received local awards from Minister of State Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman at the Youth SG-Summit Awards Ceremony on Tuesday.

Koh Shao Cong and Oh Su Chin will represent Singapore at next month's Youth AG-Summit, themed "feeding a hungry planet", in Canberra, Australia.

Along with 100 counterparts from 33 countries they will look at how agricultural research and development can boost food productivity, quality and safety.

The local duo were selected by a panel of judges from the National Youth Achievement Council and pharmaceutical giant Bayer.

As Singapore imports most of its food supply, 24-year-old Ms Oh, a food science graduate working in the Agri-Food Veterinary Authority, believes it is essential to improve local food production.

Undergraduate Mr Koh, 25, added: "With agro-technology farming system, rooftop hydroponics and vertical farming, we can optimise land use and make urban farming possible in Singapore."

A special award was also presented to late student Toh Jun Pen, who died aged 17 after he submitted his entry. The award was received by his father and members of ITE College (West).

The late Mr Toh was recognised for a smart automated rice farming system which he developed with his team from ITE College (West) to cultivate rice in urbanised Singapore. His prototype consists of a fibre tank, a basic pump, solar panels, soil, a school of small fish and rice plants.

The hydroponic paddy field is stacked vertically to save space. The fibre tanks can be re-used after each rice harvest, making the system environmentally friendly.

Dr Maliki said: "Food security and food supply resilience are issues close to our hearts, and vital to our survival."

According to the United Nations, the world's population increases by 233,000 people every day and by 2050, it has been estimated that there will be 9 billion people.

In light of the growing challenges of global food security, Dr Maliki said: "It is important for our next generation to develop interests and capabilities in safeguarding our food security, and contribute to the global conservation and sustainable agriculture."

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Indonesia: First fire-prevention plan in Riau

Zubaidah Nazeer Straits Times 29 Jul 15;

Acting Riau Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman yesterday launched the province's first fire-prevention programme in collaboration with local government, police and a major pulp and paper company, in a bid to stem forest fires that cause haze.

The programme, initiated by pulp and paper firm April, involves nine villages on the periphery of its plantation in the town of Kerinci in Pelalawan regency where it operates its mill.

April's strategic fire manager Craig Tribolet said this involves identifying a representative from each village to be a fire crew leader with whom it will coordinate communication and training of villagers and arrange the lending of firefighting tools. April has also trained 70 policemen in basic firefighting.

"We need to move beyond putting out fires to preventing them, because when we put the wet stuff over the red stuff, it is often too late," Mr Tribolet said, referring to dousing of fires.

Mr Arsyadjuliandi, whose province was the epicentre of the worst haze in 16 years in 2013, says such collaboration was crucial to achieve the no-haze goal he pledged last year when he took office. He told The Straits Times on the sidelines of the event: "Frankly, we do not have the resources and we need big companies like April to help push through such programmes and lend us equipment and help with monitoring and training."

The programme reflects the higher level of collaboration happening in this province, with the police and military also roped in to battle the haze. Ironically, yesterday's event took place on a day that saw visibility in Riau drop to 1.5km in its provincial capital Pekanbaru, prompting officials to distribute masks to schoolchildren.

Pekanbaru's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency recorded 148 hot spots across five provinces in Sumatra yesterday - 55 in South Sumatra, 45 in Riau, 35 in Jambi, nine in Bangka Belitung and four in Lampung.

It also comes as Asean ministers met in Indonesia's capital Jakarta to affirm their commitment to battling transboundary haze.

Back in Kerinci town, Mr Tribolet, an Australian firefighter hired to design the fire-prevention programme, said he found most of the residents had no malicious intent in burning land. "They simply have no other alternatives, and it costs next to nothing to clear by burning," he said of the traditional practice.

The villages, within a 3km-radius outside the company's plantation, were selected based on how fire-prone and influential they are.

April conducted dialogues with the villagers and also tapped NGOs. "We need to build networks and relationships with them, and hope the remaining villages could follow," said Mr Tribolet.

Mr Amirul, 30, who goes by one name, owns 2ha of land in Sering village. He said the villagers accepted April's offer to lend them excavators to clear their land, even though it will take up to a month more than simply burning, because there is now a higher level of scrutiny among villagers who are encouraged to report fires.

For his part, Mr Arsyadjuliandi set up a 24-hour fire-prevention post in Pekanbaru to monitor fire updates twice daily and assign officials to fire-prone areas.

Despite such efforts, fires are still common. Along the stretch of road in Kerinci, a large swathe of land was seen smoking, freshly burnt three days ago, residents said.

Haze may force authorities to send students home
Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post 28 Jul 15;

Thick haze caused by lingering forest and land fires in Riau province may force local authorities to send students home due to poor air quality.

Based on a report from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency’s (BMKG) Pekanbaru station, thick haze has for the last two days contaminated Pekanbaru and Dumai’s atmosphere, leading to visibility of only 2 to 3 kilometers.

“The air in Pekanbaru and Dumai is not healthy,” station head Sugarin said, adding that the haze was thickest in the morning and evening.

He blamed the haze on forest and land fires in a number of regencies and cities in Riau.

He said the Terra and Aqua satellites on Monday morning detected 25 hotspots. Of them, 12 were detected in Indragiri Hilir, seven in Indragiri Hulu, three in Bengkalis, two in Dumai and one in Pelalawan.

“Of them, 20 were fire spots with 70 percent reliability, indicating that there were already forest and land fires there,” he said.

Responding to the decrease in air quality, the Riau provincial administration distributed 2,000 face masks to people for free.

“We also instructed health agencies in regencies and cities with unhealthy air quality to mobilize all the community health centers in their respective regions to distribute masks to people,” Riau Health Agency head Andra Sjafril said.

The provincial health agency, according to Andra, also issued a warning for schools and parents to protect children from the impacts of haze.

“They are strongly recommended to wear masks while participating in teaching and learning activities,”
he said.

Andra recommended that schools send their students home should the air quality continue to decrease and endanger the health of students.

“If the situation does not get better tomorrow, students must stay home. If the conditions are the
same as today, they may go to school but must put on masks to protect them from the dangers of the haze,” he said.

According to provisional data, 1,022 people have suffered from health problems because of the haze since the beginning of July. Of them, 757 suffered from acute respiratory infection, 160 from skin irritation, 50 from eye irritation, 29 from asthma and 26 from pneumonia.

Andra said the figures had increased over the last few days as the air quality in the region worsened. Most of the sufferers live in regions with numerous hotspots such as Bengkalis, Rokan Hilir, Dumai city and Pekanbaru.

“That’s why we do not tire of reminding people to reduce outdoor activities while the haze is still there,” he said.

Separately, Pekanbaru Regent Firdaus said it was not yet time for him to issue a policy on sending students home, arguing that the haze was still at a tolerable level.

However, he acknowledged the dangers of haze and its impacts on people’s health and children’s intelligence.

“The impacts may not be directly visible but will emerge in 15 to 20 years,” he said.

He therefore called on parents to take good care of their children during the haze. “It’s no use if schools send them home but they are let outside in the haze to play.”

Thick haze blankets Pekanbaru
thejakartapost.com 28 Jul 15;

Several tall buildings in Pekanbaru, Riau province, were blanketed by thick haze on Tuesday morning.

According to Antaranews.com, buildings along Jl. Soebrantas Panam and Jl. Jenderal Sudirman were blanketed in smoke at 7 a.m. with visibility around 1.5 kilometers, with the smoke getting thicker at noon.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Pekanbaru has reported 148 hotspots spread over five provinces in Sumatra on Tuesday morning: 55 in South Sumatra, 45 in Riau, 35 in Jambi, nine in Bangka Belitung and four in Lampung,

“The hotspots have developed in ten regencies in Riau,” said Head of BMKG Pekanbaru Sugarin as quoted by Antara news agency.

The thick haze, which was caused by forest fires in Pekanbaru, affected students' first day of school on Monday. To reduce its effect, the Riau Public Health office distributed medical masks to the students. (edn)(++++)

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Malaysia: Sarawak to be more ape-friendly

YU JI The Star 29 Jul 15;

KUCHING: The Sarawak Government will embark on an orang utan-led environmental policy, promises Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

Aside from not approving any new logging licences and approvals for plantations, the ape-friendly policy should lead to there being more totally-protected and communal conservation areas at newly-found orang utan habitats.

Adenan, in a taped speech presented at the Great Apes Survival Partnership (Grasp) meeting in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, said the Batang Ai and Lajak-Entimau protected areas that border West Kalimantan, Indonesia, would likely be expanded based on new sightings.

The Chief Minister, who in the recording described himself as an “amateur naturalist” and a fan of BBC documentary maker Sir David Attenborough, pledged to “make decisions that are in the favour of nature”.

“I am very concerned about the state of our orang utans and other mammals in Borneo. I am a naturalist by inclination and have made concrete decisions with regard to conservation of our natural resources, especially with regard to fauna,” Adenan said during the Grasp South-East Asia meeting.

“With regard to orang utans, we have happily discovered a few more areas of habitat. In fact, over and above the present ones at the Batang Ai and Lanjak Entimau landscape, they have discovered quite a few more in nearby areas. We will preserve those.”

Adenan said the state would totally prohibit commercial dealings in known orang utan habitats.

His speech was contained within the keynote address of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Malaysia director, Dr Melvin Gumal.

Gumal told The Star that he was convinced that Adenan’s pledge around orang utans was one of the strongest made in the world.

“This is really good news because it means, from now on, wherever orang utans are found in non-protected areas, the consideration to conserve will be real.

“It also means non-consumptive activities such as eco-tourism would be prioritised. We already know there are new plans that consider these alternatives,” Gumal said.

Portions of Batang Ai are currently in a national park, while the Lanjak Entimau area is a wildlife sanctuary.

Joint public-private survey findings that ended in May last year have uncovered the existence of about 200 orang utans in and around Ulu Sungai Menyang, which is south of the existing protected areas.

The boundaries of Batang Ai National Park could also be widened westwards, where two other surveys have shown an estimated over 120 orang utans.

In a report in The Star a year ago, illegal logging was detected by indigenous communities living near the national park and staff of an international hotel chain that operates a five-star resort in the area. The report led to swift enforcement.

In March this year, the Sarawak Government announced a revised target of creating 1.5 million hectares of totally protected areas, which is slightly above 10% of the state’s landmass.

In the pipeline are some 20 new national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, including extensions on current ones like Kubah National Park, home to some of the world’s smallest frogs.

Earlier in the speech, Adenan also said a new scheme would welcome more foreign researchers and scientists into Sarawak.

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The Malayan tiger is officially Critically Endangered

WWF 28 Jul 15;

28 July 2015, Kuala Lumpur: The Malayan tiger is now officially listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the world’s most comprehensive source of information on wild animals and plants and the level of threat they face.

Recognised as a new sub-species just over a decade ago, these tigers of Peninsular Malaysia were once estimated to number around 500. However as of June 23, they have been placed in a category of wildlife that face highest risk becoming extinct in the wild.

The Malayan tiger qualifies for this category because the best available evidence indicates that the number of mature individuals is likely less than 250 animals and has declined by more than 25% in one generation (seven years).

It also meets a second criteria - there are no pockets of forest in Malaysia with an estimated population of 50 or more mature tigers.

The decline was first brought to national attention by Perhilitan and the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) last September when studies across three major tiger landscapes in Peninsular Malaysia between 2010 and 2013 suggested that there may only be 250-340 wild tigers left.

“This acknowledgement of our research is sadly, a tacit recognition that our tigers face a bleak future,” said MYCAT General Manager, Dr. Kae Kawanishi.

With the exception of the announcement of a national survey to produce a more accurate population estimate of the Malayan tiger, little has changed since last September.

“We appreciate that the country has been absorbed with a host of economic and political issues in recent months, but we cannot carry on with this level of inaction and disinterest,” said TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Programme Manager, Kanitha Krishnasamy.

“The concerted efforts of all parties are crucial, from governmental bodies to NGOs to members of the public. All of us need to acknowledge the seriousness of this issue and act fast as the tiger’s extinction is not an option for Malaysia,” said WWF-Malaysia Executive Director/CEO Dato’ Dr. Dionysius Sharma.

MYCAT reiterates the call for a high-level national task force to plan and manage the recovery of wild tigers. We stress the urgency for new tiger patrol units to strengthen protection against poachers. An honest and thorough review of the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan and the determined implementation of the Central Forest Spine Master Plan must take place soon. It is the least we can do for one of our own.

MYCAT also calls on the Malaysian public to voice their concern and show their support for their wild tigers. To say no to the use of tigers as medicine, exotic meat or pets; to report wildlife crime to the Wildlife Crime Hotline (019-356 4194), and to let their elected representatives know that this is a problem they want to see action on.

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