The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) would like to commend the Sarawak State government in their decision to ban wildlife trade, and also to control and limit the purchase of ammunition to gun owners. The move is timely, considering that wildlife is getting scarce in Sarawak, with a high possibility of their getting hunted and traded to extinction.

Under the various Wildlife Protection Ordinances and Protection of Wildlife Act (1972), hunting and killing of wildlife is generally permissible, provided that the hunting is done by aborigines and other forest dwellers for their own consumption, and they are living on forest resources. Killing of wildlife is also permissible for the sake of crop protection and in self-defense.

However, the rights of aborigines and indigenous natives to hunt and consume wild meat has been abused by traders, who, in many cases, supplied guns, ammunition, and other equipment to these natives. Hunting for self-consumption is usually sustainable; but when wild game is hunted for commercial purposes, the threat of extinction is greater due to over-hunting.

The trade ban is a step in the right direction towards better control of hunting and trading in wildlife. However the ban would be more effective if it is combined with the establishment of more wildlife reserves and sanctuaries for the protection and conservation of representative habitats crucial to these wildlife. Habitat loss and reduction is a major determinant of eco-system decay and extinction of species.

The Wildlife Protection Act in Peninsula Malaysia, the Wildlife Protection Ordinance of Sarawak and other related legislations in Sabah allow for the establishment of wildlife reserves and sanctuaries and provides protection for wildlife in Malaysia. The government departments concerned with these legislations are the Game Departments, and it is therefore natural that only wildlife is covered. With the recognition that development and pollution are major causes of habitat loss and species extinction, it is perhaps time we also include more laws that provide protection and prevent trade in rare and threatened plants.

Dato' Dr Salleh Mohd Nor
President
Letter to the Editor
(NST October 6, 1998-Kuala Lumpur)