44 Zoos in Malaysia - a Bolehland record

Imagine 44 zoos in Malaysia and only 1 in Singapore! The mother of all the problems in zoos is corruption. If only we have a transparent and competent government. If only the anti-corruption agency is fearless. If only wildlife personnel do their job well...all zoos would be well kept. Until then, even with strict enforcement and laws, the operators will get away with minimum charges. So for SAM and Foto, just dream on....

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Thursday June 28, 2012

Please give two hoots

Star

SOME of the zoos in the country are still in deplorable conditions, according to two non-governmental organisations.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) and Friends of the Orangutans (Foto) claimed that many animals were suffering in these zoos due to poor maintenance.

SAM president S.M. Mohamed Idris, who said Malaysia has 44 zoos, which include mini zoos, aviaries and animal parks, claimed that some of them were in disgusting condition.

He said that, in contrast, Singapore has only one zoo which is of world class.

“Due to the lack of enforcement, many animals have suffered over the years at the hands of zoo operators whose main purpose is to make money.

“Zoos must be responsible to keep animals in conditions that satisfy their social behavioural and biological needs. The operators should also meet the standards of health and husbandry welfare of the animals,” Idris told a press conference at the Consumers Association of Penang’s office in Jalan Mesjid Negeri yesterday.

Foto founder Upreshpal Singh said an investigation conducted by the organisation at 15 zoos (including mini zoos, aviaries and animal parks) across Malaysia since July last year revealed that most of them were in terrible state due to lack of maintenance.

He cited as examples an ostrich farm, which had animals that looked sick, and a mini zoo with snakes kept in fish tanks that did not meet their species-specific needs.

Idris and Upreshpal also provided photos taken by SAM and Foto to back their claims. One of them showed ostriches without feathers.

Upreshpal also claimed that there was a theme park where elephants were used for entertainment purposes, with the animals made to draw and their drawings sold for profit.

Both SAM and Foto urged the Wildlife and National Parks De­­part­ment (Perhilitan) to stop issuing licences for new zoos unless existing ones are properly maintained.

Their claims of deplorable conditions at the zoos come as the six-month grace period for zoo operators to comply with requirements of the Wildlife Conservation (Operation of Zoo) Regulations 2012, which was gazetted on Feb 1, is about to expire.

The new law requires zoos and animal parks to adhere to minimum cage sizes, which are specified according to various animal groups; to have a quarantine area and a veterinary clinic or hospital; and to employ a full-time veterinarian.

Other requirements are to provide vaccination of animals by a veterinarian or anyone under his supervision, to ensure the cleanliness of the facility and that wildlife shows can only be conducted if it involved the animals’ natural behaviours.

Operators who contravene these provisions are liable to a fine not exceeding RM100,000 or/and a prison term not exceeding five years.

It was reported on May 16 that Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas said zoos and wildlife sanctuaries, which mistreat animals, would not be allowed to operate under the new guidelines to be enforced from August.

He had said that zoos that flouted the regulations would be denied a licence at the end of the six-month grace period.

Insane for another bird park in Malacca

Wednesday, 19 October 2011
By SM Mohd Idris,
Sahabat Alam Malaysia

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) is unequivocally opposed to the plan for the largest bird park in Southeast Asia sited at the Botanical Gardens in Ayer Keroh Malacca. It would be insanity on the part of the Malacca Chief Minister if he harbours such an ill-conceived plan when zoos and animal establishments in Malaysia are widely known and reported to be in appalling states.

State Governments, Councils and individuals may be rich in ambition to have the largest, biggest or grandest zoos and aviaries but do they know or care about the basic care and welfare of animal and their requirements? Judging from the past, the lack of ability to run zoos or bird parks may cause many of the birds to be reduced to a spectacle of abuse or neglect and many may die eventually.

The question everyone or every animal welfare group should ask is from where and how the birds are sourced. Sourcing for 6000 birds from 300 species to fill the largest aviary will fuel the trade in live birds that not only enriches the pockets of traders and poachers, it may cause more than half of those caught to die as a result of the birds being packed into crates and transported over long distances. There will be little concern for wastage of bird life as these profiteers in the bird trade can literally get away with murder.

The other question we ask is why undertake to house such a huge collection of birds knowing that space would be shockingly inadequate. If the Malacca State Government is serious about best practices for the aviary then the project would not have started with demand for 6000 birds due to the inadequacy of space. The Malacca Government fails to recognize that animals and birds have a basic need for the appropriate amount of space. No amount of behavioural enrichment can compensate for the spatial needs of the birds.

SAM fails to see the need for an aviary in the middle of a botanic garden. The botanic garden itself is good enough to be a major tourist attraction with its wide varieties of plant species considering the immense beauty and variety that the plant kingdom offers. The garden is also a place which attracts native birds. It could be an idyllic oasis for the free-roaming birds in the centre of the city.

Constructing an aviary within the gardens is a cruel attempt to bring nature to people where we can see birds in flight and chirping away when in reality the birds are living under captive conditions only to be displayed for man’s amusement. Life in captivity can never be adequate for the fulfillment of any species or individual, since the best habitat for animals is in their natural environment. All species are born free, and detention or isolation, whether of birds or humans, is an expression of cruelty and inhumanity.

This brings to mind the question of staffing and a host of other issues: 1) Whether staff are experienced and qualified to care for the different exotic birds that have special needs?

2) Any ability or expertise to manage and train inexperienced staff?

3) The level of veterinary care and hygiene standards?

4) Resources available to upgrade exhibits?

5) The ability to keep up with a variety of environmental enrichment? and

6) The expertise for managing such a large and diverse aviary?

From the above-stated reasons SAM calls on the Malacca Government to abandon its plan for the establishment of the largest bird park in Southeast Asia.

In view of the many zoos that were closed by the authorities due to the appalling conditions of confinement of the animals and the atrocious abuse and neglect of these animals, SAM once again reiterate its stand for closure of bad zoos and limit the number of zoos to a few good ones.

SAM would also urge the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and the Department of Wildlife to completely stop the issuing of new licences for upcoming zoos and to continue monitoring all existing zoos in order to reform the wild animal industry.


S M Mohd Idris
President
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM)

Action on Cruelty to Animals - Is it for Real?

Two news today that are worth pondering.

1st. We need more foreign non-governmental organisation (NGO) to speak up before our local enforcement agencies can work. This is how pathetic our custodians for wildlife are. Locals making complaints will not likely be heard unless there are some monetary interest involved. After reading the first article below, I am surprised that the private zoo keepers were playing God! Yes, they are cross-breeding wildlife. Are they trying to follow the hybrid culture from the botanists? Its BOLEHLAND!

2nd. New regulations to keep wildlife. Thumbs up. But in BOLEHLAND, it means more monetary side income for the agencies....because law breakers were seldom punished heavily. A small fine and they carry on with their business....its a truly BOLEHLAND!

Don't you think its time to change this rotten government?
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August 11, 2011
Dept warns zoos to shape up
Star

KUALA LUMPUR: The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Per­hilitan) is aware of allegations raised by a foreign non-governmental organisation on the cruel treatment of animals under the care of Johor Zoo and Danga World Petting Zoo in Johor.

Its director-general Datuk Abdul Rasid Samsudin said Johor Zoo had been advised to ensure that its animals were better treated and amend its husbandry practices to follow guidelines under the soon-to-be-en­forced Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.

He warned that if the two premises failed to change their ways, action would be taken.

Abdul Rasid said the Johor Zoo administrators, namely the state government, had admitted that they lacked the funds to operate the zoo.

British conservation and animal rights NGO Nature Alert director Sean Whyte, in an e-mailed statement to both Perhilitan and the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry, had alleged that a baby elephant named Paloh had been ill-treated at Johor Zoo.

The alleged cruelty received wide publicity in several tabloids in Britain while the zoo management claimed that it had chained up Paloh as training and to make sure that she did not harm the keepers.

Following the furore, however, the management has released Paloh from her shackles.

Whyte made a similar complaint against Danga World Petting Zoo, claiming that a 22-year-old elephant named Aidil was shackled for long periods and kept at a construction site with barely enough shade.

Aidil’s fate had also been highlighted in an earlier Starprobe report.

Whyte claimed that the elephant was also forced to perform tricks, including hitting footballs with a cricket bat, blowing a trumpet and harmonica despite Perhilitan imposing a ban against shows using protected animals like elephants, tigers and sun bears.

“I’m surprised to hear that Danga World is still employing the elephant in its shows.

“We have been monitoring them and our inspectors have not seen this happen,” said Abdul Rasid.

He admitted, however, that since the Perhilitan inspectors were not there every day, they could have missed such shows.

On animals seized from the Saleng Zoo following the Starprobe report, Perhilitan deputy director-general Dr Zaaba Zainol Abidin, who is tasked with overseeing the enforcement division, said it had identified 35 cross-bred tigers among the list of animals.

Cross-breeding of species is against the law, with Dr Zaaba noting that these animals were of no use to the gene pool and not advocated by science or conservationists.

As a result, he said no zoos in the world would want these animals, adding that DNA samples would be taken to confirm cross-breeding.

Abdul Rasid said the department might carry out an exercise to take DNA sampling of other cross-bred sus­pected animals from Saleng Zoo.

Perhilitan had to spend about RM1mil for the raid and upkeep of the animals.

On June 20, its officers raided the privately-run zoo in Pulai, Johor, shutting down its operations and seizing the animals.

Another private zoo highlighted, Lye Huat Garden in Kedah, voluntarily surrendered the animals under its care on July 9 after admitting that it could not fulfil the new Perhilitan regulations .

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August 11, 2011
Licences a must soon for all who keep exotic animals
By S.S. YOGA
Star

KUALA LUMPUR: All premises housing wildlife, including pet shops, will now have to apply for permits to continue operating under the new Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.

Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) director-general Datuk Abd Rasid Samsudin said even individuals keeping wildlife would be required to apply for permits.

“Pet shops have to do so. Currently, all they need is a licence from the local council,” he told The Star.

He said this was one way of monitoring premises such as zoos and pet shops to ensure that they did not deal in illegal trade of wildlife as many, especially shops, had previously been found to sell illegally-obtained wild animals.

The ruling also covers common household pets which are on the endangered species list, including animals such as the star and radiated tortoises and other exotic pets such as imported snakes and reptiles.

Abdul Rasid said the regulations for keeping animals in such premises were expected to be ready by the end of next month.

It was up to the minister to decide how much time should be given for zoos and other establishments to comply with the new regulations, he added.

“We have informed all of them about the new conditions. So far, we have audited 17 zoos and establishments and some have failed to meet the requirements.

“We have advised them of the changes they need to make to comply,” said Abdul Rasid who declined to reveal which zoos and establishments had failed the first audit.

He added that Perhilitan had proposed for a bond to be imposed for the issuance of permits for animals individually and if these were later seized, the bond money would go towards their upkeep.

Abdul Rasid said the department always welcomed help from the public and non-government organisations in monitoring the situati- on.

“To help with this effort, once each premises gets its licence, we will post details of each animal and the permit issued on our website to make it easier for them to be monitored and no question of impropriety may arise,” said Abdul Rasid.

He added that a zoo committee, comprising officials from the ministry and other stakeholders like NGOs, would be formed once the regulations were in place.

However, Sahabat Alam Malaysia president S.M. Mohd Idris said the new ruling would have little effect on smuggling of wildlife in the country.

“There is no assurance that Perhilitan will be able to curb animal smuggling even after imposing the Act.

“It is impossible for them to keep track on all individual owners or premises,” he said.

Who is lying?

A sample photo of a logged hill for oil palm?

Friday September 3, 2010 MYT 9:17:00 PM
Protest against palm oil smear campaign in Aussie zoos
By STEPHEN THEN

Star

MIRI: The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) have submitted official protest to the Australian Government - to express its anger over the move by zoos in Australia to allow activists to blatantly smear Malaysia’s and Borneo’s image through anti-palm oil public posters.

MPOC Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Yusof Basiron told The Star Friday that his council had sent two memos to the Australian Government.

“We are countering the lies spread by these activists and making known our objections to the Australian authorities.

“The allegations against us are very serious and damaging to the image of not only our palm-oil industry, but also the reputation of peninsula Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah.

“The Aussie posters was also brought up to the attention of our Cabinet also. The posters used by these activists in Australia contained a lot of lies. We want the zoos to take down those posters,’’ he said in a telephone interview from his headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The Star recently highlighted the move by environmental activists who put up posters in the Adelaide Zoo criticising the oil-palm projects in peninsula Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra and Papua New Guinea.

The posters, among others, claimed that the palm-oil industry had caused serious deforestation, wildlife abuse, global-warming and the genocide of Orang Utans.

The posters also called for pressure to be applied on the Government and policy-makers to force palm oil industralists to do more to protect the environment and wildlife.

One of the posters claimed that in Borneo, palm-oil developers are “killing up to 50 Orang Utans per week by using guns, machettes, wooden stacks and fire’’.

The Star found out about these poster campaigns during the visit to the world-famous Adelaide Zoo by Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen during her recent mission to promote Malaysia’s tourism spots.

Dr Ng protested against these posters and tried to counter the activists’ stance during her meeting with trade representatives and foreign journalists during her stop in New Zealand and Australia.

Yusof told The Star Friday, the MPOC found similar posters in other Aussie zoos.

“We have contacted politicians in Australia and also the management of the zoos and have asked that those posters be pulled down.

“We have hired independent researchers from overseas to come to Malaysia to carry out independent probes on the Orang Utan and have found no evidence of any killings by oil-palm workers.

“In fact, our studies showed that the Orang Utan population in Sarawak and Sabah have not even declined as claimed by these activists.

“As for claims on our forest destruction and wildlife abuse, the latest information we have is that the environment authorities have already taken steps to improve enforcement and penalise offenders.

“Making sweeping allegations against us is most unfair under the circumstances,’’ he said.

Popular zoo has tame front but may hide 'wild' activities

March 3, 2010
By HILARY CHIEW and JOSHUA FOONG
thestar

IT brands itself as a zoo and brags about the conservation works it does. It also proudly talks of its educational role in highlighting the plight of endangered species.

But behind its animal-loving front, this popular private establishment in the southern part of Peninsula Malaysia could be one of the worst examples of a successful commercial enterprise riding on the back of exploiting, breeding and trading in endangered animals.

This zoo, like several others, has earned a name for itself by announcing the birth of new tiger cubs to coincide with major events like the Lunar New Year, or even to commemorate the death of celebrities like Michael Jackson.

To many, it’s the perfect zoo. The beautiful cubs hog airtime and newsprint space, and the tills get filled by the long lines of visitors.

The Year of the Tiger promises to be a boon for the zoo.

A visit before Chinese New Year revealed that one of its tigresses is pregnant. The zoo also allows tiger cub to be hired and this has been a hit with many companies in the Tiger Year.

“We’re fully booked until year-end,” says the zoo keeper proudly. “People are willing to pay between RM1,000 and RM5,000 to ‘borrow’ a tiger cub for a day.”

He says the zoo has two cubs but only the eight-month-old is used for roadshows. Such activities have conservationists up in arms.

To have perfectly timed cubs require the adult tigers to be subjected to “controlled mating”. This as well as the “tiger cubs for hire” schemes are considered heinous and hardly in line with conservation.

The legality of the “rent a tiger cubs” schemes are also questionable. The zoo claims to have the requisite permits from the Wildlife and National Park Department (Perhilitan) for everything it does but are these possible.

Perhilitan had to step in following a spate of pre-Chinese New Year publicity from establishments with tigers promoting photo sessions.

The zoo keeper confirms department’s order for such sessions to stop: “We have been told to hold on until further notice.”

The zoo’s justification is of course pure economics. “The money is needed to feed the animals,” the keeper says. He says the zoo’s Year of the Tiger roadshow could bring in enough revenue to cover expenses for six months.

“Photography sessions in the zoo would further contribute to 50% of the tigers’ maintenance costs,” he adds.

Another worrying result from the zoo’s breeding programme is the creation of mixed-breed tigers which Perhilitan has acknowledged as “worthless” in terms of conservation.

The Guidelines for Zoological Gardens prohibits the cross-breeding of species but this does not seem to concern the zoo keeper.

He says the zoo is allowed to carry out tiger breeding programme, again under a special permit issued to it by Perhilitan.

He says the zoo currently has 24 tigers and reproduction is controlled by having four pairs of breeding animals. As each pair is allowed to mate twice a year, the average newborns will be 32 cubs annually.

“Over the years, we have been cross-breeding them,” says the keeper. “Yeah, there’s a lot of new sub-species created in this way.” He nevertheless admits that the hybrid specimens produced by the zoo can never be released into the wild, dashing any claims to the zoo playing a conservation role.

Questions to Perhilitan such as if the special permit covered the offsprings and if the breeders are obliged to keep a record of its breeding programme were left unanswered.

Neither was the issue of why a zoo which talks of the need to raise money be allowed to operate a breeding facility.


There are also concerns of whether the zoo is involved in the trading of endangered species.

Asked if the zoo has ever sold cubs to anyone, the keeper merely answers that there is a market for tiger cubs and they could easily fetch between RM15,000 and RM30,000 per animal.

He acknowledges that the zoo has supplied three young tigers to another facility before.

Asked if money crossed hands, the keeper says: “That’s between my boss and them.” A spokesman from the other facility said its special permit was acquired through a subsidiary and the animals were obtained under an exchange programme. He, however, did not reveal what animals were exchanged.

The zoo has a run-down feel to it.

And, there is very little educational element involved. Signage is poor and many contained misinformation or just the basic name of the animals behind bars.

Elephants 'die earlier in zoos'

Elephants 'die earlier in zoos'

Zoo elephants have a very repetitive, boring lifestyle
A new study comparing wild, captive and working elephants has found that living in zoos can significantly shorten the animals' lives.

Writing in the journal Science, researchers say obesity is a major cause of death in adult zoo elephants.

They also cite stress as the key factor in the death of young captive animals when they are moved from zoo to zoo.

They say ideally zoos should not take on new elephants if they cannot provide suitable environments.

Still births

The study focused on the lives of female elephants, comparing more than 4,500 individuals. The researchers looked at wild elephants in Kenya's Ambosseli National Park, working elephants in the Burmese logging industry, and zoo elephant populations in Europe.

For African elephants, the average lifespan in captivity was only 19 years compared with 56 years in the wild.

Rates of mortality amongst zoo-born Asian elephants were two to three times higher than for those born in the logging camps.

Ros Clubb from Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) says diet and lifestyle are the key factors influencing elephant lifespan in zoos.

"The vast majority are overweight in zoos, this could explain the high still-birth rates and why they're dying early. Bigger mothers have bigger calves and more of these are still-born," she said.

Early death was also more likely to occur in captive animals born in the wild or transferred between zoos. Dr Clubb says this is probably caused by the stress of being taken away from their herd, mothers or family group.

"In the wild they live in large stable groups, separation does cause stress; we know this from studies of other species," she said.

Working elephants

Khyune Mar, now at the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at Sheffield University, used to work for Myanma Timber Enterprise, the commercial arm of Burma's forest ministry.

The company uses elephants to haul logs from the forests. Analysis of the lives of these working Asian elephants was based on data Dr Mar collected in Burma.

She says their longer life expectancy - more than 40 years compared with less than 19 in zoo elephants - can be put down to their lifestyle; for half the time the Burmese working elephants are allowed to act naturally.

"We keep working elephants in the workforce for no more than six to eight hours a day. For the remaining hours we let them loose in the forest, they live like wild elephants, they can meet and mate with wild elephants, they have a full elephant life, good exercise and good food," she said.

Dr Mar says there are lessons from the treatment of these working elephants that could be taken on board by zoos.

"They have a very monotonous lifestyle, every day is the same for zoo elephants, they have to live in the same compound, with limited roaming, this makes them more stressed," she said.

"They need a huge home range, more systematic enrichment, bigger compounds, grooming areas, mud wallows, hills."

She says its important to allow them the freedom to behave naturally and has a straightforward message for zoos.

"If the zoo does not have space, its simple - don't take elephants."

The report's authors say transfers of elephants between zoos should be avoided, calves should be kept with their mothers for as long as possible to avoid stress-related death, and there should be regular screening for signs of obesity.

UK zoos

A separate study looking in detail at all the elephants in UK zoos has found significant health problems and evidence of widespread psychological distress.

Researchers from Bristol University studied 77 animals in 13 zoos and found that almost half of the elephants displayed abnormal behaviour.

This included repeatedly swaying the trunk, pacing backwards and forwards and retracing their steps over and over again.

"Some of the animals were born in the zoos and must have developed it there," said Chris Sherwin, from Bristol University's Department of Veterinary Science.

"It's possibly their way of coping with stress, but almost certainly indicates they're in an environment which is inappropriate for their needs. This is not behaviour you see in the wild."

The report says unless the animals' health and psychological suffering can be addressed, the ethics of keeping elephants in zoos must be questioned.

"In my opinion, given the correct housing and care it would be ethically acceptable to keep a few elephants in a few zoos, but certainly not the numbers we have in all the zoos we have now," Dr Sherwin added.

The Zoos Forum, the UK government's independent advisers on zoos, will consider the new findings and report to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) within six months.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7777413.stm