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CURRENT STATUS & ISSUES | |
Most Issues Resolved | |
Many of the major issues impacting wildlife industry stakeholders have essentially been resolved, resulting in far less tension between stakeholders and authorities, principally PERHILITAN. | |
However, the P4PHM continues engage PERHILITAN on several outstanding––albeit minor––issues. Here is a summary of two such "outstanding issues." | |
Wildlife Tagging Issues | |
Wildlife Tagging is prescribed in Section 45 of the WCA 2010 (Act 716) and requires all protected wildlife species be tagged (in one of several ways). | |
Subsequent to earlier engagement, a moratorium has been granted to stakeholders over the implementation of "wildlife tagging" but we expect PERHILITAN to commence enforcement from 2015. | |
There continues to be debate over methodology, application and "authorized taggers" over smaller or sub-adult specimens, particularly with reptiles and birds. | |
Invasive Species Issue | |
The Red-eared Slider is currently classified as an "invasive species" under Schedule 5 of the WCA 2010 (Act 716) and is listed amongst the 100 most invasive species by the IUCN. |
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The Red-eared Slider is arguably one of the most "invasive species" in Malaysia today as it aggressively consumes not only the vegetation consumed by local tortoise species, it also eats the eggs of local tortoise species. More aggressive ones have also been known to attack other tortoises. | |
As a consequence, the occurrence of local tortoise species––such as the Malayan Box Turtle––has become rarer, even along streams they were commonly found. This is confirmed when PERHILITAN introduced local tortoise species into the WCA 2010 (Act 716) as protected species for the first time. | |
However, there has recently been a proposal to declassify the Red-eared Slider as an "invasive species." Such an act would bring further pressure on wild populations of local tortoise species. |
Revised October 08, 2014
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