Nature Alert: Improve conditions for orang-utan in captivity

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Improve conditions for orang-utan in captivity

Tuesday March 23, 2010 The Star, Malaysia

Improve conditions for orang-utan in captivity

SARAWAK and Sabah are right to say no to sending their orang-utan to a proposed new tourist facility in Kuala Lumpur, “Sabah, S’wak unwilling to send their orang utan to KL” (Sunday Star, March 21).

First and foremost, anyone who has seen the truly horrific conditions in which orang-utan are held in Malaysian zoos and safari parks will know full well the inability of the Government to set, let alone maintain, acceptable standards for animal welfare.

Perhilitan is currently investigating allegations of cruelty and breaches of the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 Act 76 at five well known establishments which keep orang-utan.

The treatment of orang-utan (and many other species) in Malaysian zoos is nothing
less than appalling, in some cases involving torture, and it must be stopped.

With the emphasis at this proposed new attraction on tourism, not conservation or education, the Government presumably has seen how orang-utan eco-tourism attracts large numbers to Sabah and Sarawak and wants to sidetrack some of these tourists to Kuala Lumpur.

It’s all about money and it has nothing to do with caring for the needs of the orang-utan.
If the officials really care about orang-utan, let them first show this by improving conditions for orang-utan already in captivity, and where appropriate, bring the full force of the law to bear on those who flagrantly breach the Protection of Wildlife Act.

SEAN WHYTE,
Chief Executive, Nature Alert
London.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/23/focus/5911825&sec=focus

Hall of Shame for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Palm Oil Industry.

Nothing can prepare one for the sight of the systematic extermination of orangutans by the government of Indonesia.

Look at the photos and news articles on these pages in the context of a statement the President made to the media on 10th December 2007.

“In the last 35 years about 50,000 orangutans are estimated to have been lost as their habitats shrank. If this continues, this majestic creature will likely face extinction by 2050,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the launch of an orangutan conservation plan at the climate talks in Bali.

“The fate of the orangutan is a subject that goes to the heart of sustainable forests … To save the orangutan we have to save the forest.”

Statements like these are most welcome, but unless backed up by action, such words fall on deaf ears within the Ministry of Forestry....who are busy granting licences to cut down the very forests the President says they should protect!

When you think you are to busy to help, please could you reflect for a moment on .........

The following extract refers to environmental problems in general. I just hope you find it as thought provoking and relevant to orangutans as I have.

"This is such a shocking and unpalatable fact that most people deny it, or they just don't want to think about it. They believe as individuals, they can do little about it, so push it to the back of their minds. But I can't do that.

When something has to be done, we need to do it. It doesn't matter how big the challenge is or how hard the solution; if I know something is wrong, and I am in a position to help, I will do my best to make it right." Duncan Bannatyne, successful British businessman.