Elizabeth John
GAME hunting in special reserves could turn out be the next big shot in the arm for Sabah’s economy.
But there’s also a nagging feeling that if poorly handled, it could kill Sabah’s golden goose — the wildlife that attracts tourism dollars.
"The wildlife situation is already very critical. Should we be opening hunting up to everyone?" asks Raymond Abin of Sarawak-based Brimas.
Sabah’s neighbour has long restricted hunting to indigenous people and those living along forest fringes.
They are only allowed to hunt for subsistence — to feed their families.
Even so, abuse is rampant, says Abin, a programme director at Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia.
"It is common, for instance, for big traders from the town to supply local hunters with cartridges," says Abin.
"Traders then buy the wild meat and this is how hunting becomes commercial, though it was never meant to be."
If the game reserve system is too open, Abin fears it will lead to exploitation and defeat the whole purpose of conservation.
He says that Sarawak Forestry Department carries out surprise checks on markets that sell wild meat in the State but weaknesses remain.
"Many take deer and wild boar out in large quantities for sale in towns and it’s hard to stop them."
Hunting has, at least in some countries, led to extinction, says an article published in Nature in 2003.
John Whitfield, the author of the article, cites the example of Miss Waldron’s red colombus monkey which was hunted to extinction in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, and the disappearance of 12 species of mammals from Vietnam’s forest since 1975.
Mammals in tropical forests occur in low densities and breed slowly, Whitfield says, quoting analysis by tropical wildlife ecologists. Because of the low numbers, commercial hunting cannot be supported in this environment.
Even numbers are a problem. Malaysian authorities only have good estimates of some of the more charismatic species like proboscis monkeys, orang utan and tigers.
However, this is not the case for ungulates like wild pigs and deer.
Accurate figures for these animal populations calculated using internationally recognised scientific methods are hard to come by in Malaysia.
What then informs the decision on hunting quotas?
If impetus for this idea is the African savannah where safari hunting brings in mega bucks, the idea needs rethinking.
Open savanna grasslands are very different from tropical rainforests.
The idea that all forests can supply equal numbers of wildlife and are all equally productive has been shown to be false.
Wildlife supply is highest in drier forests and lowest in moist forests like ours, shows research by scientists Robinson and Bennett published in Animal Conservation in 2004.
Besides, in Africa, there is a long history of wildlife research.
Enforcement staff strength there is high while in Malaysia, the lack of staff is often the excuse given for poor enforcement.
"Once the road opens here, people from the towns will exploit the situation," says a concerned Abin.
GAME hunting in special reserves could turn out be the next big shot in the arm for Sabah’s economy.
But there’s also a nagging feeling that if poorly handled, it could kill Sabah’s golden goose — the wildlife that attracts tourism dollars.
"The wildlife situation is already very critical. Should we be opening hunting up to everyone?" asks Raymond Abin of Sarawak-based Brimas.
Sabah’s neighbour has long restricted hunting to indigenous people and those living along forest fringes.
They are only allowed to hunt for subsistence — to feed their families.
Even so, abuse is rampant, says Abin, a programme director at Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia.
"It is common, for instance, for big traders from the town to supply local hunters with cartridges," says Abin.
"Traders then buy the wild meat and this is how hunting becomes commercial, though it was never meant to be."
If the game reserve system is too open, Abin fears it will lead to exploitation and defeat the whole purpose of conservation.
He says that Sarawak Forestry Department carries out surprise checks on markets that sell wild meat in the State but weaknesses remain.
"Many take deer and wild boar out in large quantities for sale in towns and it’s hard to stop them."
Hunting has, at least in some countries, led to extinction, says an article published in Nature in 2003.
John Whitfield, the author of the article, cites the example of Miss Waldron’s red colombus monkey which was hunted to extinction in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, and the disappearance of 12 species of mammals from Vietnam’s forest since 1975.
Mammals in tropical forests occur in low densities and breed slowly, Whitfield says, quoting analysis by tropical wildlife ecologists. Because of the low numbers, commercial hunting cannot be supported in this environment.
Even numbers are a problem. Malaysian authorities only have good estimates of some of the more charismatic species like proboscis monkeys, orang utan and tigers.
However, this is not the case for ungulates like wild pigs and deer.
Accurate figures for these animal populations calculated using internationally recognised scientific methods are hard to come by in Malaysia.
What then informs the decision on hunting quotas?
If impetus for this idea is the African savannah where safari hunting brings in mega bucks, the idea needs rethinking.
Open savanna grasslands are very different from tropical rainforests.
The idea that all forests can supply equal numbers of wildlife and are all equally productive has been shown to be false.
Wildlife supply is highest in drier forests and lowest in moist forests like ours, shows research by scientists Robinson and Bennett published in Animal Conservation in 2004.
Besides, in Africa, there is a long history of wildlife research.
Enforcement staff strength there is high while in Malaysia, the lack of staff is often the excuse given for poor enforcement.
"Once the road opens here, people from the towns will exploit the situation," says a concerned Abin.