Monday October 5, 2009
By SYLVIA LOOI
IPOH: A 120kg male tiger, which had its forelimb ensnared by traps set by poachers, has been rescued by the Perak National Parks and Wildlife Department.
Department director Shabrina Shariff said it received information on Saturday afternoon that an animal had been found trapped in the Royal Belum Forest Reserve.
"Rescue operations got under way at 7am today (Sunday) but the cloudy weather hampered efforts by the officers to immobilise the animal," she said, adding that her officers only managed to put the tiger to sleep 45 minutes later.
On the injuries suffered by the tiger, Shabrina said it was quite serious as its bone had been penetrated.
Protected animal: The male tiger with its right forelimb ensnared by a trap. The rescued animal is receiving treatment and will be cared for at the Malacca Zoo. "Before being moved to the Malacca Zoo for further treatment, the tiger was given first aid treatment,'' she added.
Reminding poachers that tigers are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, she said those found keeping it would be fined RM15,000 or sentenced to jail for not more than five years.
"It is also an offence to have traps," she added.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia called on a stronger enforcement presence in the Belum-Temengor area following the rescue.
"If this isn't enough of a clarion call for the Government to have more resources to form an anti-poaching task force, I don't know what is," its chief executive officer Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma said in a statement yesterday.
This article was taken from: The Star Online: Nation 5 October 2009
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