CREDIT has to be given to the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan). Its rangers have tried their best to enforce laws under the jurisdiction of the department and they are committed to the conservation of both flora and fauna.
But a recent Perhilitan proposal on the use of captive breeding to increase the numbers of Malayan tigers (or its scientific name, Panthera tigris jacksoni) in the wild is ill-advised, though laudable.
Captive breeding involves the breeding of an animal, usually one that is endangered, for the sole purpose of increasing the population of that animal. Once these animals reach maturity in captivity, they are released into the wild.
The hope is that by doing so, these animals would repopulate the wild and the numbers would increase to such a point that it would not go extinct.
However, research shows that captive breeding programmes do not actually work and there is one particular reason for this. While many such programmes are successful in breeding endangered animals, the problem is when these animals are released into the wild.
The animals, having spent their whole lives in captivity up to the point of release, have no skills to survive in the wild. It takes a year for tiger cubs to learn the predatory skills necessary to survive, but in captivity, they do not have that vital training from their mothers.
Logically speaking, would not a tiger which has been fed animal carcasses from birth have problems hunting prey in the jungles of Malaysia?
And that is just the problem of food.
Therefore, the better solution would be conservation efforts.
Harsher penalties, stricter enforcement strategies and poaching prevention programmes are the way to go to stop wildlife trafficking, which is one of the biggest threats to our wildlife, not just the Malayan tiger.
Perhaps we should take a leaf out of the tiger conservation programmes in India and Nepal, which have successfully managed to at least double tiger population numbers in those two countries. In fact, between 2013 and 2014, Nepal managed to achieve 365 days of zero poaching, and that is not just of tigers, but rhinos and elephants, too.
The key here is that there were concerted and focused efforts by all its enforcement agencies, and not just wildlife rangers. With coordinated and multi-agency effort, prevention of poaching becomes easier and, consequently and eventually, can lead to an increase in wildlife populations.
Poaching, however, is not the only threat wild animals face. As human populations increase and living space becomes more and more of a premium, natural habitats for animals are bound to be destroyed.
Encroachment and destruction of natural habitats lead to dwindling populations and this affects all species. Predatory animals face not just a dwindling number of their own species, but that of prey species as well.
Hence, conservation efforts must not entirely focus on the prevention of poaching in order to put an end to the illegal trade of wildlife. It needs also to ensure the preservation of natural habitats.
Malaysia has the laws, even if they need to have harsher penalties. What is most lacking is enforcement. Once we get that right, we will see the population of Malayan tigers and other species, as well, increase well enough.