Sabah lifts ban on issuance of hunting licences

KOTA KINABALU: The temporary freeze on the issuance of hunting licences in Sabah has been lifted following a change in the prolonged dry spell.

Sabah Wildlife Department director William Baya (pic) said the licences were frozen in April in view of the dry and hot weather to prevent the possibility of hunters starting forest fires.

“Now that we are having rains, the freeze on the license is withdrawn with immediate effect,” he said in a statement here.

Baya said the decision does not involve Kinabatangan as the area was still experiencing dry and hot weather.

“We will monitor the weather in this district for a week or two before making further announcements,” he said.

The El-Nino-induced dry spell, which started in March, recorded more than a thousand fires with hundreds of villagers facing water shortage problems statewide.