Move to beef up wildlife laws applauded

WWF-Malaysia applauds the recent plan by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to further arm enforcement officers in its department and to look into raising the maximum fine for offenders to RM1 million plus whipping in the article “Gunning for the poachers”(The Star, May 30).

Although the wildlife laws in Peninsular Malaysia have been strengthened through the implementation of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 six years ago, many wildlife crime offenders have either managed to escape prosecution or have been charged with the minimal penalty and subsequently managed to easily pay off the fine, simply because the profits from wildlife trade outweigh the fines.