Wildlife is like game in Sarawak

By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: Logging camp workers are hunting and trapping animals, including endangered species, en masse inside their huge timber concession zones in interior Sarawak, said Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM).

There is a free-for-all in terms of hunting and capturing of animals inside these logging areas where the timber bosses reign supreme and where there is virtually zero enforcement by any wildlife protection authorities, said SAM coordinator and field officer for Sarawak, Jok Jau Evong.

"SAM has a special branch for monitoring the welfare of wildlife, especially endangered species. Our headquarters is in Penang, but we are active all over the country, including in Sarawak.

"Nomadic Penans have told us they had seen workers employed by timber companies killing and trapping animals. Other native groups have also seen these sorts of thing happening before," he said, adding that each logging concession zone can measure up to 50,000ha.

Jok said the animals trapped inside the logging zones would either end up as exotic food or in cages.

"It is impossible to know where these captured creatures will be taken to. It will be no surprise if they ended up as trophy animals in cities and towns," he said yesterday.

Jok was reacting to The Star's reports over the past few days concerning the fate of endangered animals in Sarawak that had ended up living in miserable conditions after their capture from the wild.

He explained that SAM had asked natives living in and around timber camps and oil palm plantations to always keep a vigil on things.

"These native folk will know if any enforcement authorities visit. The feedback from them showed that there has never been any wildlife enforcement units entering these logging areas," he said.