As long as the buying does not stop, the illegal trade will not. That may sound clichéd but it is very true as respect for wildlife in Malaysia is still very low.
SOME time ago, I was in Kuching, where I met up with a botanist friend who spends a lot of time doing field trips in jungles around the globe. We shared some work-related stories, and one of his, which involved orang utan, really stood out.
In a remote village in a jungle in Borneo, he came across a young orang utan which was being kept in a cage in the kitchen, reared like a chicken, waiting to be dinner for the villagers.
On another occasion, he saw a sea turtle lying on its back in a kitchen. He thought it was dead, till it gave a half-hearted flap of its flippers and he realised, with a shock, it was still alive.
Dying breed: A file photo of a baby orang utan. To end the trade of endangered animals, the ultimate change lies in changing mindsets.
He then asked the villager whether the turtle was meant for consumption soon. The answer he was given was that it would be kept alive for weeks on its back with splashes of water till the villagers wanted to eat some turtle meat.
Most of us with a modicum of an education are aware that turtles and orang utan are endangered species.
Most of us wouldn’t even consider eating them, and even those of us who may have had turtle eggs in the past, have now probably reconsidered our stand on this.
There are those who haven’t yet bought into the idea of staying away from endangered species as food or for its perceived medicinal/aphrodisiacal properties.
These are the ones who are not particularly well educated and are therefore not exposed to other mindsets which abhor practices like stuffing one’s face with endangered animals. Although having said that, I have met people in Kuala Lumpur who confess to having eaten turtle eggs.
WWF-Malaysia estimated that a total of 422,000 turtle eggs were traded in Terengganu alone in 2007. This is a trade volume which is twice the number of green turtle nestings in the state.
And then there’s sharks fin, the soup of which is a must in wedding banquets. The cartilage of the fin has no real flavour, and the soup could very well be made without it, tasting just as delicious. It’s just such an entrenched part of our culture here that they don’t see the wrong of it.
And then there’s the story of Anson Wong. The erstwhile Wong operates one of the largest legal reptile supply companies in the world. This, he used as a front to smuggle critically endangered species from countries like Australia, China, Madagascar, New Zealand, South America and Malaysia.
He also used it to sell the skin and fur of endangered animals. His exotic stable has included snow leopard pelts, panda bear skins, rhino horn, rare birds and Komodo dragons.
Earlier this month, Wong was convicted in Malaysia for smuggling 95 boa constrictors, two rhinoceros vipers and a matamata turtle.
He was sentenced to six months jail and fined RM190,000.
Despite being behind bars, it turned out the exotic pets he was supplying were still available.
The moral of the story is obvious – as long as there’s a demand, there will always be a supply mechanism in place.
Can you imagine a world without sharks, orang utan and turtles?
If we do something about curtailing demand, we go a long way towards stopping the supply element as well.
The fact of the matter is we all owe a responsibility to try to sustain life forms on this planet, be it animals, or plants or other human beings. Governments, NGOs and voluntary organisations play a huge role in raising awareness, having public campaigns and enacting laws. All this is aimed at the general public, people like you and I. And any potential change very much lies with people like you and I.
What can we do? Well, you and I can do this – we can challenge people who think this is okay.
Ultimately, no matter what the laws are like, all it does is provide a penalty framework. People like Anson Wong will continue to sell exotic animals to people as long as there are those who want to raise them as pets.
We should try our best not just to live a life with some class of a moral code, but where necessary use our persuasive skills to convince others to do the same.
The ultimate change lies in changing mindsets, not just the laws of the land. So let’s set about trying to inspire some people to work towards a better world.
Sheila Stanley once ate turtle eggs and sharks fin soup. She has now repented and hopes to change the mindsets of others as well. You can read more about her at www.sheila-stanley.com
Source : The Star Online
Date : Monday September 13, 2010
By : Sheila Stanley
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