Malaysia: Human-wildlife conflict in Selangor caused by rapid development, says state exco

THARANYA ARUMUGAM New Straits Times 8 Nov 17;

SHAH ALAM: The rapid development in Selangor has led to conflict between humans and wildlife in several areas in the state, said Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong today.

Wong said this was based on the rise in the number of reports involving animals, including monkeys, wild boars, foxes and snakes, encroaching into residential areas.

She said these areas include Sekinchan, Hulu Selangor and Kuala Selangor.

Wong said the State Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) has taken the necessary measures to keep the animals at bay, such as by distributing traps to residents living in high-risk areas.

Cages, she added, would be placed inside the residents’ compounds where food would be used as bait.

“The problem arises when housing developments are too close to the animals’ natural habitat. There is conflict because both parties (animals and humans) do not understand each other.

“Perhilitan is responsible in taking practical actions to protect the people from any wildlife threats that could disrupt peace and stability.

“The department has taken various mitigation measures to address this and reduce the number of complaints from the public. This includes enhanced surveillance activities, humane killing and the relocation of the captured animals to forests or conservation sites,” she told the state legislative assembly today.

Wong said Perhilitan has also prepared a comprehensive wildlife inventory, especially on monkeys, covering problematic areas.

Awareness programmes should also be held at hotspots to educate the public on the dos and don’ts, she said.

“For instance, the public should not be allowed to feed or shower care and love to these wild animals. Perhilitan and the local authorities should look into this and beef up enforcement.”

Wong, who is also Tourism, Environment, Green Technology and Consumer Affairs exco, said Perhilitan caught 16,942 wild animals in 2014, 15,154 animals in 2015, 10,078 animals last year and 7,923 animals as of August 2017.

“Various factors will be taken into consideration before relocating the animals, including space, food availability and distance from residential areas. Injured animals will first be treated by Perhilitan.

“But for problematic species such as monkeys, they would be put to sleep,” she said, adding that new housing developments in the state are now required to have buffer zones to reduce the human-wildlife conflict.