Cyrene with dugong signs, stars and more!
wild shores of singapore
OCBCcares Fund for the Environment – how to submit an competent proposal? Training workshop on Thu 24 Aug 2017: 4.00pm – 7.00pm
Otterman speak
Read more!
Best of our wild blogs: 15 Aug 17
Read more!
Singapore scientist wins Asean award for research on rice
VALERIE KOH Today Online 15 Aug 17;
SINGAPORE — Singapore might not be a rice-producing country, but that has not stopped it from contributing to research in the field.
Last week, Dr Yin Zhongchao, 50, was named the Outstanding Rice Scientist of Singapore at the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) Rice Science and Technology Ambassadors Award.
To mark Asean’s 50th anniversary, the inaugural award was given to 15 rice scientists and farmers across the region at a ceremony in the Philippines.
Dr Yin, a senior principal investigator at Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory who has been studying how to genetically improve rice grains, was the only winner from Singapore.
He said yesterday in an interview with TODAY: “Young Singaporeans may prefer bread or spaghetti, but rice is a staple, especially in Asia ... (As) a food safety concern, rice is important to us.”
Much of his research is underscored by the need to boost productivity in paddy fields, and to keep bacteria from destroying harvests.
Containing bacteria is important for farmers during seasonal monsoons or floods, which could cause bacteria to spread, Dr Yin said.
Without advancements in research and development, bacteria could kill up to 80 per cent of a harvest and affect the quality of the remaining crops.
Dr Yin, who is married with two sons, attained Singapore citizenship in 2006. He was born into a family of rice farmers in Anhui, China.
As a child, he learnt to transplant rice on paddy fields and harvest grains. Later, he pursued postgraduate education in plant genetics, focusing specifically on rice.
At the invitation of a former supervisor, he moved to Singapore to study bacterial diseases in rice after getting his PhD in 1997.
In 2005, Dr Yin and his research team published their findings on a cloned gene — Xa27 — in a scientific journal. Once introduced to rice grains, the gene builds resistance to bacterial blight, which causes the wilting of seedlings and drying of leaves.
The team modified another gene, Xa10, to keep pace with the evolution of bacteria, and in another breakthrough in 2015, they were able to use the modified gene to build resistance to 26 bacterial strains from various countries including China, Japan and Australia.
Dr Yin’s team also worked on the Xa10 and Xa27 genes to induce products that could trigger “cell death”.
“The bacteria is either killed by the death of the cell, which produces a lot of toxin, or by the loss of nutrition,” he said. “(So, it) cannot spread further to the surrounding healthy cell (of the rice grain).”
On his award, his employer Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory said that it “recognises Dr Yin’s outstanding scientific research in the field of understanding bacterial diseases in rice, as well as his positive contribution to rice productivity improvement at the Asean level”.
Last year, Dr Yin was part of the team that contributed seven varieties of Singaporean rice seeds to the Norwegian Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a secure seed facility.
Among them was a variety known as Temasek Rice, modified to be disease- and weather-resistant.
The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), which nominated him for the award, said Temasek Rice has favourable qualities such as high yields, and fungal and bacterial resistance.
“The development of Temasek Rice is a successful example of research benefiting people and the environment,” it told TODAY.
Dr Yin’s team also works closely with farmers in the region to develop sustainable farming practices to improve productivity and the livelihoods of the rice farming community, and their work would help to contribute to the long-term food security for the region, the AVA added.
Despite these breakthroughs in agricultural science, Dr Yin feels that his work is hardly done.
“I want to learn how bacteria infects rice plants and then grow new rice with greater resistance,” he said.
“As a scientist, we cannot say we’ve finished research in a certain field. In rice bacteria, there are still many questions that (have) to be answered.”
Read more!
Factory farming in Asia creating global health risks, report warns
Growth of intensive units has potential to increase antibiotic resistance and could result in spread of bird flu beyond region
Fiona Harvey The Guardian 14 Aug 17;
The use of antibiotics in factory farms in Asia is set to more than double in just over a decade, with potentially damaging effects on antibiotic resistance around the world.
Factory farming of poultry in Asia is also increasing the threat of bird flu spreading beyond the region, with more deadly strains taking hold, according to a new report from a network of financial investors.
Use of antibiotics in poultry and pig farms will increase by more than 120% in Asiaby 2030, based on current trends. Half of all antibiotics globally are now consumed in China alone. The Chinese meat and animal feed producers New Hope Group and Wen’s Group are now among the 10 biggest animal feed manufacturers in the world.
The growth of Asian meat production in intensive units is also producing a rise in greenhouse gas emissions from the food chain, with emissions likely to rise by more than 360m tonnes, the equivalent of running 100 coal-fired power plants for a year. There are knock-on impacts such as deforestation, as China’s need for animal feed is responsible for more than a third of Brazil’s soybean production.
The report, Factory Farming in Asia: Assessing Investment Risks, comes three years after a meat scandal in China, in which suppliers to McDonalds, KFC and others were found to be using dirty meat and products past their sell-by date. It also comes in the midst of a growing food scandal in Europe, which has required the recall of millions of eggs tainted with harmful chemicals, and as concerns have been aired over the impact of Brexit on imports of farm products to the UK.
Asian food companies have rapidly expanded their meat production in response to growing populations and the tastes of the rising middle class, but this expansion has come to the detriment of food safety.
Jeremy Coller, of Coller Capital, said: “Investors have a big appetite for the animal protein sector in Asia. But the growth is driven by a boom in factory farming that creates problems like emissions and epidemics, abuse of antibiotics and abuse of labour. Investors must improve the management of sustainability issues in the Asian meat and dairy industries if they want to avoid a nasty bout of financial food poisoning.”
However, the report also found that deploying modern techniques could assist in reducing the impact of factory farming – for instance, by using barcodes to enable consumers to check the provenance of eggs, by reducing greenhouse gases and improving the health of livestock.
Avian flu is an increasing threat, with the latest strain to take hold in China, H7N9, proving more deadly than previous strains. It has already killed 84% more people in the four years since its emergence than the H5N1 strain that came to public attention in 2006. Affected industries in China include suppliers to McDonalds and Walmart. An outbreak of bird flu in South Korea in 2016-17 resulted in the cull of a fifth of the country’s flock.
The authors of the study recommended that investors assess the risks of food production in the assets they hold, as financial firms can persuade the companies they fund to make improvements in their supply chain. But they said awareness among investors was currently too low and should be raised.
Previous food scandals have damaged the finances of multinational companiessuch as McDonalds and KFC. Jaideep Panwar, sustainability and governance manager at APG Asset Management Asia, said: “[This] reminds investors to keep a close eye on the long-term risks of food assets in Asia.
“The evolution of what are now early stage regulatory moves in Asia, supplier conditions introduced by international brands and import restrictions can have an impact on the productivity of Asian producers and their access to markets. Investors will assess the ability of companies in the meat supply chain to position themselves ahead of these risks.”
Melissa Brown, partner at Daobridge Capital in Hong Kong, added: “Few issues are as politically sensitive in Asia as food safety. Yet far too many food sector equities have been priced as if [these] risks don’t matter and that good risk management won’t be recognised in the market.”
The report was published on Monday by the international investment network FAIRR and the Asia Research and Engagement consultancy.
Factory farming in Asia poses environmental, forced-labour risks: report
Rina Chandran Reuters 16 Aug 17;
MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The rapid growth of factory farming in Asia for livestock and seafood poses enormous environmental and forced labor risks, in addition to threats to public safety and health, according to a report by an investor network.
Half Asia's aquaculture production is from factory farms, said the report published this week by Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return (FAIRR), referring to the major, industrial operations that raise large numbers of animals for food.
"Asia's meat, seafood and dairy industries face a range of badly managed sustainability risks – from emissions to epidemics, fraud to food safety, and abuse of labor," said Jeremy Coller, founder of FAIRR.
"It is clear that significant environmental and social risks are building up."
Meat demand in Asia is predicted to grow by a fifth to 144 million tonnes by 2025 as populations expand and incomes rise, the report said.
China, which has the largest animal population in Asia, is promoting large-scale farming for greater efficiency and economies of scale.
But the practice has serious environmental repercussions, besides leading to rural job loss and land rights violations, said the report published together with Singapore-based Asia Research and Engagement.
Cows, goats and chickens have higher greenhouse gas emissions and water footprints than other proteins.
In addition, crops grown to feed them are causing forest loss.
In Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta, for example, most mangrove forests have been cleared for shrimp ponds, while the growth in soy cultivation in Latin America for China's pork and poultry production has come at the expense of rainforests.
Asia's factory farms also increase the risk of forced labor of migrants, children and trafficked workers, the report said.
Thailand's multibillion-dollar seafood sector has come under fire in recent years after investigations showed widespread slavery, trafficking and violence on fishing boats and in onshore food processing units.
Last month, Thai Union - the world's largest canned tuna company - in an agreement with environmental group Greenpeace, said it would take steps towards sustainably caught tuna while ensuring all workers are "safe".
Also earlier this year, a Thai court dismissed a compensation claim by 14 migrant workers from Myanmar who had alleged labor violations at a chicken farm that supplied the European Union.
"Top producers are working towards developing sustainable production systems, certified through an increasing number of ecolabels," said Coller.
"But a general lack of traceability in supply chains has made it difficult...to evaluate and mitigate these risks."
Reporting by Rina Chandran @rinachandran, Editing by Katy Migiro. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.
Read more!
Skyscrapers pose fatal risk to migratory birds: Study
Audrey Tan Straits Times 13 Aug 17;
SINGAPORE - Skyscrapers have become an intrinsic part of the skyline in land-scarce Singapore but they are posing a problem for migratory birds.
And buildings in the central and western parts of the island are the ones birds are most likely to crash into, a new study has found.
The study, put together by bird scientists and researchers from institutions such as the Nature Society (Singapore) and National University of Singapore, found that, between 1998 and 2016, 237 migratory birds collided with buildings, and 157 of them or about 66 per cent, died.
Of the 237 collisions, 115 took place in the Central Business District area and a few residential areas on the fringes of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.
In the west of the island, there were 57 collisions, largely in areas with heavy industrial land use on the edge of the Western Catchment area.
The two areas accounted for 73 per cent of all reported collisions in Singapore.
The study, the first to document bird and building collisions in South-east Asia, also found that certain species of birds are more likely to collide into buildings than others.
The study said: "The birds most vulnerable to collisions with man-made structures are migratory species whose routes pass through major urban centres.
"The problem is exacerbated by light pollution from urban buildings at night, which both attracts and disorientates night-flying birds, leading to increased collision rates in urban areas."
The rise in bird-building collision rates is not unique to Singapore. In North America, estimates of bird deaths from collisions range from 100 million to 1 billion birds a year.
In New York, a growing number of building owners are switching off non-essential lights after becoming aware about the fatal attraction birds have to lights.
Since 2005, more than 90 buildings in the city, including the Rockefeller Centre, Chrysler Building and the Time Warner Centre, have joined the Lights Out programme, which encourages buildings to take a lights-off approach to keep birds safe.
In Singapore, four species - the blue-winged pitta, yellow-rumped flycatcher, western hooded pitta and oriental dwarf kingfisher - together make up 53 per cent of all collisions.
The blue-winged pitta and the western hooded pitta fly into Singapore from the Indochina region, and do so largely at night.
"They may be particularly vulnerable in the vicinity of high-rise, brightly lit housing and office blocks, which are a feature of modern Singapore's skyline and are a deadly attraction to birds," said the study.
The study was done by Mr Low Bing Wen, Mr Yong Ding Li, Mr David Tan, Mr Alan Owyong and Mr Alfred Chia.
It was published in the June (2017) issue of Birding Asia, the bulletin of the Oriental Bird Club - a Britain-based society for ornithologists studying Asian birds.
Mr Alfred Chia, who is from the Nature Society (Singapore) Bird Group, said all it takes is for people to turn off the lights in high-rise buildings, instead of leaving them on throughout the night.
He said: "It may not be practical or feasible for building authorities to make it mandatory for building owners and developers to install bird-friendly glass in building facades."
Bird-friendly glass is a special kind of glass that has UV-reflective patches, which make the glass more visible to passing birds.
As for the current situation, Mr Chia said: "There is one thing that can be immediately done and at no cost - switching off lights in tall office buildings in the city at night. It will contribute positively to minimising the incidences of birds crashing into buildings."
Read more!
Roots & Shoots growing strong in Singapore
Jessie Lim Straits Times 14 Aug 17;
The Singapore chapter of a service learning programme that grooms young people to make a difference for animals, the environment and the community has grown in a decade from a single school to more than 25 schools, from pre-school to tertiary levels.
Roots & Shoots, which has a global network, is a youth-oriented service programme founded in 1991 by renowned primatologist Jane Goodall. The Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore), or JGIS, which celebrated its 10th year, runs the local Roots & Shoots network.
Explaining why Roots & Shoots has grown over the decade, Mr Tay Kae Fong, 39, JGIS president, said: "More young people feel empowered. They believe they can make a difference so that the environment, animals and people can develop in a sustainable way, together."
Other key programmes of JGIS include eco-literacy classes for secondary schools and monkey walks to educate the public about the long-tailed macaque, a monkey species native to Singapore.
Its Roots and Shoots conference, on Aug 8, brought together 13 local Roots & Shoots groups. The students and educators presented their projects, which included caring for migrant workers and the human-macaque conflict.
The highlight of the one-day conference, organised by JGIS and held at the Singapore Chinese Girls' School, was a keynote address by Dr Goodall.
Living in harmony with the macaques was at the heart of Ms Quek Xiao Tong's Roots & Shoots project, which she started during the December holidays in 2013.
Ms Quek and her team set up an outreach booth at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, talking to visitors over six weekends about the importance of not feeding the monkeys, as it makes the monkeys reliant on humans for food.
"Roots & Shoots showed that I can be an advocate for the environment and that people can change their mindsets about nature," she said.
Ms Quek, 20, now a second-year undergraduate doing environmental studies in the National University of Singapore, recently finished a three-month internship at JGIS, during which she helped to prepare for Dr Goodall's visit.
Eleven-year-old Benz Chong Tze Jun presented an individual project about macaque behaviour at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve during the conference.
This is the first year that the Ministry of Education and JGIS have collaborated on the Individualised Research Study, where Primary 5 pupils in the Gifted Education Programme research a project based on personal interests.
Benz made nine trips to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and MacRitchie Reservoir this year, and observed that the macaques at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve spent about 80 per cent of feeding time consuming natural food, and 20 per cent eating food provided by humans.
"With knowledge comes empowerment to educate the people around us, so that we can learn to co-exist with nature in harmony," the Primary 5 Nanyang Primary School pupil said.
Read more!
Farmers to compete on concept in new land tender
Vegetable farmers face fixed-price tender; proposals judged on factors like innovation
Audrey Tan Straits Times 14 Aug 17;
New farmland will be released later this month and, for the first time, the 12 plots for growing leafy vegetables in Lim Chu Kang and Sungei Tengah will be tendered out on concept and not price, the latter of which will be fixed.
This means that farmers growing leafy vegetables will not have to worry about engaging in a price war trying to secure the land. Instead, their proposals will be judged on factors like production capability, track record, relevant experience and qualifications, and whether they can harness innovation to improve and sustain production, and keep their businesses viable.
Under this fixed-price tender method, land will be parcelled out by farm type. The other three types to be tendered out this way, over the next few years, will be for quail eggs, food fish and beansprouts.
The land price will be fixed by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore's Chief Valuer's Office, which will take reference from prices of agriculture land sold by the Government, a spokesman for the Agri- Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) told The Straits Times.
"Apart from past land prices, rents obtained from the leasing of agricultural properties were also considered," she added.
Other plots for general agriculture food farms, such as frog and goat farms, will be tendered using concept and price. Proposals will first be evaluated on concept. Of the shortlisted candidates, the one with the highest bid will then win the tender.
"The difference in approach is that in the concept and price category, the land can be used for a range of farm types instead of a specific one," said the AVA spokesman. "Land price varies depending on the type of farming conducted on the land. As the land price for various farm types is different and the farm type is not fixed, these plots cannot have a fixed price."
Concepts will be judged on the same criteria as those for the fixed-price tender.
The local agriculture sector produces less than 10 per cent of total food supply, but is vital for food security as it serves as a buffer in case of food supply shocks.
The last time land was tendered out for agricultural use was more than two decades ago.
Come end-2021, the leases of 62 farms in Lim Chu Kang will run out, and the land will be given over to military use.
In total, the AVA will tender out 36 new plots of farmland on 20- year leases. The plots are in Lim Chu Kang and Sungei Tengah, and span 60ha in total.
The new plots, however, will not offset the loss in farmland at the end of 2021.
But the hope is to step up Singapore's food security within the constraints of limited land by encouraging the use of high-technology farming in the new plots to boost productivity and yield.
Eden PurelyFresh Farm, formerly known as Eden Garden Farm, will be putting in a bid for the upcoming tender this month.
Chief executive and founder Desmond Khoo, 30, welcomed the fixed-price tender method as one that benefits working farmers who already have a proven track record.
For farmers like him, it also removes the uncertainty of naming the right price to secure the land.
"It is good that the Government is helping us with the land price because, in this way, we can use the money to invest in high-tech equipment and research to increase the farm's productivity and yield."
Read more!
Best of our wild blogs: 13 Aug 17
Morning Walk At Pulau Ubin (11 Aug 2017)
Beetles@SG BLOG
ButterflyCircle Sharing Series
Butterflies of Singapore
Read more!
AVA inspectors share tales of hunting down illegal wildlife owners
AVA inspectors share tales of desperate tactics by owners cornered by the authorities
Zaihan Mohamed Yusof Straits Times 18 Aug 17;
Nobody answered the door when two Agri-food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) inspectors made a surprise visit to a Bukit Panjang flat based on intelligence.
The pair - who wanted to be known only as John and Tom - left after an hour of waiting. But when they returned to the same flat four hours later, they struck gold.
They found a hedgehog, slightly bigger than an adult's palm, kept in a plastic tank inside the flat.
The Sunday Times was given an exclusive look into the inspectors' work by tagging along during the raid around a month ago, as they shared accounts of the desperate tactics used by illegal wildlife owners who find themselves becoming the prey of the authorities.
John, who is in his 40s and has eight years of experience, said that when cornered with incriminating evidence, some illegal wildlife owners would resort to hiding the animals or delaying investigations.
"There have been instances when the suspects kept their gates locked as they went back to their kitchens to do something funny... We will advise them not to do so," said John.
Tom, who is in his 30s, said some suspects would become verbally abusive. "(They) try to instil fear in us," he said.
Dr Anna Wong, the director of AVA's Import and Export Regulation Department/Quarantine & Inspection Group, said AVA is alerted to cases of illegal wildlife ownership or trade through feedback, tip-offs, inspections and surveillance.
Dr Wong said: "AVA officers face various challenges while conducting investigations or interacting with suspected wildlife owners or sellers. This includes sellers cutting off engagement with an investigation officer posing as a potential buyer or running away from officers. As there are always risks or dangers involved, each operation is carefully planned for."
Under the law, importing animals without an AVA permit is illegal and carries a maximum fine of $10,000 and/or jail sentence of up to a year.
It is also against the law to possess, advertise for sale or display to the public, including online, any illegal wildlife species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna or Flora (Cites).
Yet, the many local and foreign online advertisements and posts suggest a healthy trade.
From 2013 to May this year, AVA has handled 100 cases pertaining to the possession, sale or trade of live wild animals, including Cites and non-Cites animals seized from Singapore's borders, inland possession and online sales.
In 2015, there were 25 cases in which 463 wild animals were confiscated. The following year, the number of cases rose to 31, though fewer live animals - 162 - were seized.
From January to May this year, AVA has seized 128 live wild animals in 11 cases. John said: "It (online posts, blogs and advertisements) creates a buy-and-sell situation in Singapore. It's getting worse nowadays (as) we seem to be apprehending more people who are trying to sell."
AVA inspectors have seized rare animals like scorpions, tarantulas, pigtail macaques, fennec foxes and the Asian leopard cat.
The most commonly seized animals are star tortoises, hedgehogs, ball pythons, sugar gliders and leopard geckos, said Dr Wong.
For Tom, his strangest find during a raid was a pit viper snake.
He said: "In that case, we had asked the owner to take the glass box with the pit viper out.(Yet), he was actually playing with it. To us, it's a venomous snake."
At the Bukit Panjang flat, where the owner claimed she did not know that keeping a hedgehog was against the law, the inspectors' job was far from complete.
After taking her statement, the hedgehog was transported to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), where it was officially handed over. ST understands that while WRS receives confiscated wildlife at least "once or twice a month", it also gets wild animals abandoned by their owners.
An animal's body weight is measured and it is examined for parasites and eye or nasal discharge before being admitted into WRS' quarantine facility. Some animals arrive in "near-death" condition due to poor care and husbandry.
Added Dr Wong: "Wild animals are not suitable pets as some may transmit zoonotic diseases to humans and can be a public safety risk if mishandled, or if they escape into our dense urban environment...
"Demand for such animals would fuel illegal wildlife trade, which severely impacts the wild populations of numerous species."
THRIVING ILLEGAL TRADE
463
Number of live wild animals confiscated in 2015.
162
Number of live wild animals seized by AVA last year.
128
Number of live wild animals seized from January to May this year.
Related post
Meet some of HDB's exotic and illegal tenants
Read more!
Malaysia: Customs seize 8,000kg of pangolin scales worth RM100mil
MUGUNTAN VANAR The Star 11 Aug 17;
KOTA KINABALU: Some 8,000kg of pangolin scales worth a whopping RM100mil in illicit trade were seized by Customs at the Sepanggar Bay container port here.
Sabah Customs and Excise Department director Datuk Janathan Kandok said the pangolin scales were found in 266 gunny sacks owned by a private company that was meant for export on July 29.
He said a 43-year-old local man, the owner of the company, has been detained.
"Our initial investigations show that the scales were on its way to China," he said at a press conference at Wisma Kastam Sabah here Friday.
Janathan said it was uncertain if the scales were from local pangolins, and did not rule out the possibility that it was smuggled from neighbouring countries.
He said it is estimated that the scales came from some 16,000 pangolins, which is an endangered species.
Pangolin scales are used for medicinal and food by certain people and has high demand for its unproven aphrodisiac value.
Janathan said the suspect had hidden the scales under various types of marine shells to trick Customs officials.
However, on closer examination, they discovered the pangolin scales beneath the sacks.
Janathan said investigations are being carried out under Section 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967 for exporting banned goods.
Where did that 8,000kg of pangolin scales come from?
MUGUNTAN VANAR The Star 12 Aug 17;
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is keen to find out the origin of the 8,000kg of pangolin scales worth RM100mil that was seized by the state Customs and Excise Department at its Sepanggar container port here on July 29.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Augustine Tuuga said his team wants to take DNA samples to establish whether the pangolin scales were from Sabah or somewhere else.
"We won't have any idea (of the origin of the pangolin scales) unless there is a DNA analysis," he said on Saturday.
"We also believe they may not be necessarily from this region, and could be from Africa as it was with those seized at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in May," he added.
Tuuga was referring to the seizure of 700kg of pangolin scales as well as ivory tusks earlier this year, all originating from Africa.
He said his department was also prepared to take action under the state's conservation laws for smuggling, noting that trading in pangolins was banned under state as well as international laws.
"(Customs) will take action under their law but we will also take action if they hand over the case to us after they have completed their investigations," he added.
On Friday, Sabah Customs and Excise Department director Datuk Janathan Kandok said they had arrested a 43-year-old local and found the pangolin scales stored in 266 gunny bags in two containers waiting to be shipped to China.
The suspect was the owner of the company shipping the goods.
Janathan said they were uncertain if the scales were from local pangolins but did not rule out that they could have come from neighbouring countries, brought into Sabah illegally.
He said that they estimated that the scales came from some 16,000 pangolins, which are classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Pangolin scales are used for medicinal purposes and as food, and there is high demand for their unproven aphrodisiac value.
They are valued at US$3,000 (about RM13,000) per kg in the black market.
Sabah Customs is probing the case under Section 135 (1) (a) of the Customs Act 1967 for exporting banned goods.
The seizure was the biggest haul involving the protected animal so far in Sabah, after the seizure of 1,068 frozen pangolins weighing some five tonnes in Sandakan on Dec 7, 2011.
Man detained after 8,000kg of pangolin scales found
The Star 12 Aug 17;
KOTA KINABALU: Some 8,000kg of pangolin scales worth RM100mil in the illicit trade business were seized by Customs at the port here.
Sabah Customs and Excise Department director Datuk Janathan Kandok said they found the scales in a container owned by a Sabah private company that was meant for export on July 29.
He said a 43-year-old man, who is the owner of the company, has been detained.
“Our initial investigation showed that it was on its way to China,” he said.
Janathan said they were uncertain if the scales were from local pangolins and did not rule out the possibility that they were smuggled from neighbouring countries.
He said they estimated that the scales came from some 16,000 pangolins, which are listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The scales were in 266 gunny sacks placed inside two containers, he told a press conference at Wisma Kastam Sabah here yesterday.
Pangolin scales are in high demand as an aphrodisiac, although this attribute is yet unproven.
He said the suspect had hidden the scales under normal marine shells to trick Customs officials.
However, on closer examination, they discovered the pangolin scales beneath the sacks.
Janathan said that investigations were being carried out under Section 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967 for exporting banned goods.
Those found guilty face a fine of not less than 10 times the value of the goods or a jail term not exceeding three years or both.
Read more!
Malaysia: Wild Elephant population in Peninsula estimated at 1,450
Bernama New Straits Times 12 Aug 17;
KUALA LUMPUR: The population of wild elephants in Peninsular Malaysia is estimated to be between 1,220 to 1,450, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
He said the animal distribution in the peninsula is concentrated in Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah, Perak, Johor and Negri Sembilan, with the highest elephant population to be found in the National Park in Pahang of about 290 to 631 elephants.
As a ‘keystone’ species in the forest ecosystem, Wan Junaidi said elephants played an important role in terms of ecosystem balance, becoming a symbol of national biodiversity conservation.
Wan Junaidi said the awareness and cooperation of all Malaysians was crucial to protecting, conserving and appreciating national biodiversity, especially wildlife such as elephants as a priceless living heritage.
“In ensuring that these elephant species survive, the cooperation of all parties is very much needed to play their respective roles. Apart from the government that conducts public awareness programmes, the private sector are welcome to jointly carry out their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes towards the conservation of wildlife in our country.
“This earth is ours together. We should live in harmony with the flora and fauna that need each other for our survival in the future,” he said in his message in conjunction with the World Elephant Day today.
Wan Junaidi said the ministry through the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) launched the National Elephant Conservation Action Plan (NECAP) on Nov 27, 2013 which outlined elephant conservation activities from 2013 to 2022.
NECAP is a comprehensive plan to ensure effective elephant conservation efforts such as increasing elephant population in key habitats, protecting elephant habitat, strengthening elephant law enforcement, effective elephant conflict management and enhancing research and knowledge on elephants’ ecology and biology.
World Elephant Day is celebrated on August 12 every year since 2011 to expose the world community on conservation efforts of elephant species as well as fostering public awareness of the critical threats faced by elephant populations worldwide. — BERNAMA
Read more!
Malaysia not a wildlife smuggling hub
New Straits Times 12 Aug 17;
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia should not be referred to as a hub for wildlife smuggling.
Customs Director-General Datuk Seri T. Subromaniam said this to set the record straight, in reference to two seizures of pangolin scales last month.
“I need to correct the misconception. There are countries that have these cases but do not report or take action on them,” he said while alluding to neighbouring countries.
“But what is better, take action and report (the seizure) and have you all say we are a transit point, or allow these smugglers to get through while another party becomes the news highlight,” he said here at the pre-launch of a charity ride the department plans to hold in January.
He said that the statistics had to be interpreted carefully and more busts meant there was a proper system in place to nab criminals.
“We can't, for instance say that Malaysia is a corrupt country just because the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission handles a lot of cases,” he added.
Subromaniam also said that the department scored large busts as a result of partnerships with international intelligence networks and public tip-offs.
Malaysia has long been labelled as a key transit point in global wildlife smuggling and trafficking by environmental groups.
On Friday the Sabah Customs Department announced that it busted an attempt to smuggle out about 8,000 kg of pangolin scales worth over RM103 million to China via the Sepanggar Port in Kota Kinabalu on July 29.
The scales, packed in 226 gunny sacks were discovered inside two containers, waiting to be shipped out.
Last week the KLIA Customs Department also announced that it seized 300.9kg of smuggled pangolin scales worth RM3.86 million from the Democratic Republic of Congo on July 30.
Customs assistant director-general (enforcement) Datuk Mohd Pudzi Man said the smuggled items were confiscated from the free trade zone at the air cargo warehouse in KLIA.
The scales were smuggled in seven bags and labelled as “fish maw”. They were flown in via Ethiopian Airlines from Congo, and KLIA is believed to have been its final destination.
-ends-
Read more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
visitors since Nov 07