Keep stern eye on wildlife smuggling

I WOULD like to commend the swift action of the Johor Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) officials who were involved in the seizure of

247 protected whiterumped shama birds, known as burung murai batu and worth about RM200,000, from an express bus near the

Kulai rest area, “Birds smuggled on express bus” (The Star, March 16). I know these birds are popular as pets for many people because of their sweet chirpy voice, but they are endangered in the wild.

I would like to urge the authorities to clamp down on individuals who illegally sell wildlife. These animals are already rare in the wild so why do people want to keep them? Most wildlife do not survive as well as domestic pets in captivity. I hope someone can educate people to keep a dog or a cat if they are lonely, not something that is protected by the law as an endangered species.

I feel the animal welfare aspect also needs to be considered here. Sixteen of the 247 birds did not survive the journey. You can imagine the hot, stuffy, smoky and noisy conditions that the birds had to endure.

Also, they were all placed in 17 cages only, meaning that each cage held an average of 15 birds. If these conditions didn’t kill them, I believe the stress they suffered did. They certainly don’t deserve this treatment. Birds are not meant to be kept in cages let alone in the undercarriage compartment of buses. This is totally unacceptable.

I hope the judges will give the perpetrators high fines and stiff jail sentences. They should be made an example of the fact that crimes related to trade in endangered wildlife, even the transport of it, do not pay. This would put off those with intentions to transport wildlife in future.

Owners or operators of express bus companies have to take full responsibility for their errant drivers. The blood of the 16 dead birds are as much on their hands as on their employees.

Relevant authorities like the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) should also do something about this! The buses must be seized and operations halted until the operators can prove that their drivers are no longer carrying out these illegal activities.

Since the birds were destined for Indonesia, our customs must also be more vigilant. How can we allow our local birds to be smuggled to a neighbouring country? If no further enforcement is taken, we are giving up our national treasures to other countries without putting up a fight.

The local bus driver should be ashamed of himself!

To conclude, I hope more action can be taken and the law enforced to prevent such occurrences from happening again.

ANONYMOUS Kuala Lumpur