Malaysia hunting tiger poachers
KUALA LUMPUR: Conservationists called this week for a war on the poachers who are undermining Malaysia's ambitious goal to double its population of wild tigers to 1,000.
With 2010 declared the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese zodiac, experts fear there will be an upsurge in poaching of one of the world's most endangered species.
"The demand (for tiger parts) has been strong. It will remain strong in the Year of the Tiger," said Dinoysius Sharma, executive director of WWF-Malaysia.
"Prices may increase amid dwindling numbers in the wild, which makes it more lucrative to hunt for tigers," he said. "Security should be beefed up for the tigers."
Sharma said that in the past year, 10 tigers have been taken by poachers from one of Malaysia's main habitats, the Belum-Temengor forest in northern Perak state.
"We have evidence of (poachers) living in the jungle for long periods of time," he said.
Sharma said that in the last 12 months, 114 tiger traps have been destroyed and 10 poachers arrested in the Belum-Temengor forest.
Malaysia's wild tigers are mostly found near the Malaysia-Thai border, but some live as far south as Johor, which borders Singapore.
In 2008 Malaysia unveiled an ambitious "National Tiger Action Plan" aimed at doubling the number of wild tigers in peninsular Malaysia to 1,000 by 2020.
In the 1950s, there were as many as 3,000 tigers in Malaysia but their numbers fell as the country opened up more land for agriculture.
AFP
(China Daily 01/22/2010 page10)
