Set up a wildlife crime bureau under police, says WWF Malaysia

KOTA KINABALU: WWF Malaysia is calling for the setting-up of a wildlife crime bureau to effectively tackle wildlife-related crimes in the state.

Commenting on the arrest of the suspects behind the killing of a bull Borneo pygmy elephant in Tawau, its conservation director Dr Henry Chan said the tie-up between wildlife rangers and police was instrumental in solving the killing of an elephant found dead on Sept 25 in Tawau.

He said police support in investigating had been instrumental in moving the case forward, adding that this would no doubt also be an essential element in tackling other wildlife crimes in the state.

He said there was an urgent need to put in place a long-term mechanism with dedicated resources to stamp out the burgeoning problem.

"As organised wildlife crimes evolve, we too must evolve in order to effectively tackle it.

“The time to set up a wildlife crime bureau is now so that we can confront organised wildlife crimes in a systematic and consistent manner, ” Chan added.

Noting that numerous incidences of wildlife crime in Sabah had unfortunately gone unresolved over the years, he said that this had an impact on the survival of many of Sabah's unique wildlife species.

The complexities surrounding wildlife crime stem from its largely borderless nature, he added.

“Wildlife hunted on our soil can make their way across the border and be sold overseas, making them extremely difficult to track, ” he said.

Ultimately, Chan said a unit such as the wildlife crime bureau under the jurisdiction of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) would allow for a streamlining of information, effective data collection and crime analysis, adequate training on intelligence sharing, as well as support for wildlife officers in states across Malaysia.

"The successful capture (of the elephant killers) proves that we are indeed capable of doing better," he said, congratulating the police and state wildlife for solving the killing of the bull elephant at Sungai Udin in Kalabakan in Sabah’s southwestern Tawau.