Selangor SPCA World Animal Day Celebration TODAY 4th OCTOBER 2009

Don't forget today, 4th of October 2009 (Sunday), to be at the SPCA Selangor, Animal Shelter in Ampang Jaya by 3pm, where SPCA will mark World Animal Day with a gathering of volunteers, fosterers, sponsors, staff and friends.

There will also be Appreciation Awards, to thank, SPCA Sponsors, Volunteers, and Fosterers.

Free Vouchers For Early Birds!
SPCA will also be promoting their Spay & Neuter Your Pets Campaign, and will be giving out 50 FREE Klinik Kembiri Spay/ Neuter vouchers for the first 50 pet owners (mixed-breed pets only) who register at our Klinik Kembiri booth!

Let us all come together to honour and celebrate our animal friends, and encourage each other and to promote animal welfare - both locally and globally!

Magnum bonum


A great good

Swine Flu - WARNING

SWINE FLU [now known as Type A Flu (H1N1)] WARNING!

Dear Sir Madam,


Please note the warning below from the CVDC.

In addition, once the near pandemic is over, such a technique may however be useful in order to desensitise and help some members of the community get over their irrational deep rooted fear of pigs.

Please also note that this flu is, as informed by WHO, now officially known as 'Type A Flu [H1N1]'.

This name change has been carried out to protect innocent pigs who were being unnecessarily slaughtered by irrational humans.

SWINE FLU WARNING!

This practice, however cute the picture may seem be, is not advised!

A Centre for Veterinary Disease Control (CVDC) & Ministry of Health Warning:

"DO NOT DO THIS!!" *

*The pig may get sick.

Puris omnia pura

To the pure all things are pure

Do Animals Matter To You?

Click on the poster for a larger version

Help achieve global recognition that animals matter, that they can feel pain and can suffer and that we all have a responsibility to put an end to cruelty around the world.

10 million signatures are needed to let the governments of the world know we are serious about achieving a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare at the United Nations.

If Animals Matter To You, please sign this international petition,
please click HERE for the link

Click HERE for the Animals Matter To Me flyer

Natura in minima maxima

Nature is the greatest in the smallest things

Natura nihil fit in frustra

Nature does nothing in vain

Carnage on the Roads, Tapir Road Kill

FROM THIS

AND THIS


TO

THIS

The Carnage on the Roads of Malaysia Continues

The sickening sight of a Malayan tapir or Asian tapir (Tapirus indicus) lying motionless (see above picture) on the road side slowed the traffic to a crawl along the Kuantan to Kemaman, on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, yesterday, 15 February 2008.

The young adult Tapir, weighing an estimated 250 kg, was killed, when it was hit by a vehicle, whilst the gentle animal was attempting to cross the road.

The animal’s body had been mutilated, and it its tail, right ear and tongue were missing; some bastard had cut off these body parts after the animal was run over.

The body parts of a tapir are not known to have value either as exotic food or as ingredients for traditional medicines, but who knows what was in the tiny mind of the apology for a human being who mutilated this Malayan Tapir, which is a vulnerable endangered species

Malayan or Asian tapir.

Physical characteristics:

This species of tapir is 6 to 10 feet (1.85 to 2.50 meters) long with a tail measuring 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters). They weigh 550 to 825 pounds (250 to 375 kilograms) and have a shoulder height of 35 to 41 inches (90 to 105 centimeters). This large tapir has a black coat except for the rear half above the legs, which is white.

Geographic range:

Malayan tapirs are found in Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Classification

Order: Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates)

Family: Tapiridae (tapirs)

Genus: Tapirus (tapirs)

Status

Classified as Vulnerable (VU A2c+3c+4c) on the IUCN Red List 2004, and listed on Appendix I of CITES .

Habitat:

Malayan tapirs live in the lowland forests of swamps and mountains up to an elevation of 6,560 feet (2,000 meters). This species needs a permanent water source with plenty of water for drinking and bathing. Highest populations are found in swamps and lowland forests.

Widely abundant in Southern Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in the early 1930s, Asian tapir populations have rapidly declined and now survive only as isolated populations in remote or protected areas.

Habitat destruction poses the predominant threat, as a result of land being cleared for human settlement and agriculture, and rivers being dammed and land flooded for hydroelectric development.

In Sumatra, uncontrolled illegal logging still occurs.

The tapir population is strongest in Malaysia, where deforestation had declined somewhat in the recent past, however the cutting of virgin forests for hardwood logs has increased in the past few years, so the habitat of the Malayan tapir is becoming severely threatened once again..

The Asian tapir is hunted both for food and for sport. Although the flesh of tapirs was previously forbidden (haram) to Muslims areas due to the species' resemblance to pigs , very recent reports indicate that Muslims no longer equate the two and thus more people hunt them for subsistence food.

In Thailand and Myanmar the meat is considered distasteful and some tribes believe killing a tapir brings bad luck.

However, a flourishing Asian zoo trade has put a tempting price on the tapir's head, with a single animal fetching up to US$ 6,000.

Tapirs also occasionally get trapped in steel wire snares set for wild boars.

Low reproductive rate, coupled with fragmented distribution of Malayan tapirs mean that populations have a low recovery potential, and this makes the species particularly vulnerable when they are hunted or trapped, or are killed when crossing roads and highways.

Roads and Highways in Malaysia and other countries in Asia do not provide alternative crossing paths (tunnels or bridges) for wildlife to use to enable them to cross safely. Road kill is common, the victims apart apart from tapir, include, wildlife such as replitles, primates, small, medium and large mammals, and of course many types of domesticated animals and pets.

Is life, even human life, considered to be so cheap?

The relentless carnage on the roads and highways in Malaysia clearly indicates this may be true.

My post Carnage on Malaysia's Roads can be found here.

Pura Vida!

Long-tailed Macaque under threat in Malaysia

Long-tailed Macaque
Macaca fascicularis:

An Overview

Status: Near threatened (M. f. umbrosa), Lower risk but near threatened (M. f. aurea, M. f. fascicularis, M. f. philippinensis), Data deficient (all other sub species.)

---

Life span: 31 years
Total population: Unknown
Regions: Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand
Gestation: 5.5 months (165 days)
Height: 412 to 648 mm (M), 385 to 503 mm (F)
Weight: 4.7 to 8.3 kg (M), 2.5 to 5.7 kg (F)

One of the main primate species living in Southeast Asia (besides Homo sapiens), is the Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) found in a wide ranging natural habitats such as primary and secondary forest, and mangroves forests, etc.

Due to destruction of their natural habitats, for the building of roads, factories, housing and the clearing of natural forests for plantations of oil palms, and the replanting of rubber plantations with oil palms, the Long-tailed Macaque has been forced to move to plantations (but not plantations of non-native oil palms, which are not a suitable habitat for primates, and most native species of animals, except rat and snakes) and to wooded locations within and on the outskirts of cities, towns and villages where they can live and easily supplement their natural diet and survive by eating human food leftovers.

The natural diet of Long-tailed Macaques is a varied diet, consisting of fruits, leaves, small mammals and birds, shellfish and crabs.

Due to the destruction of their natural habitat and hunting, the Long-tailed Macaque is a species which is under threat of extinction.

Malaysia scraps plan to export pesky monkeys

This is reported by Reuters today –

“Malaysia has dropped a plan to round up nuisance monkeys from its cities and sell them abroad as exotic meat or for medical research, after discovering that most of the animals are too ill to be exported.

In August, the government said it would end a ban on the export of long-tailed macaques after complaints that they were too aggressive and had attacked residents. Animal-rights groups objected, saying the monkeys would be sold to laboratories.

A recent study found 80 percent of urban macaques carried diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis and AIDS, he said. "Only 20 percent were healthy and, of this, only half the number were suitable for export," he added.

Govt abandons monkey export plans

This was the headline in New Straits Times, Malaysia, today 2^nd February 2008

According to NST, "minister Azmi Khalid said the decision was made after the discovery that about 80 percent of urban monkeys had contracted diseases and were deemed unfit for export.

He said the export was to fulfil the demand for exotic meat in a few countries in Asia and in the west.

"A study of 2,000 macaques in urban areas conducted several months ago found that 80 per cent of them were infected.

"Only 20 per cent were healthy, and of this, only half the number were suitable for export," he said adding that the diseases could possibly spread among the human population.

Relocation programmes

According to veterinary experts, humans could be infected with diseases carried by the monkeys if there was close contact.

Monkeys could also be infected with diseases contracted from humans if the animals licked human spit.

Azmi added that the ministry feared that the move to export monkeys would encourage companies to hire agents to seize the monkeys which might lead to uncontrolled hunting of the animal.

Veterinary experts have previously called for relocation programmes, reproduction controls and public education to stop residents from feeding or teasing the animals.

They also opine that the monkey problem occurred in many major cities throughout the country due to the massive destruction of forests that has pushed the wildlife to seek shelter and food in urban areas.

The monkey population in the country is about 700,000, with 250,000 in urban areas.

The monkeys usually found at the urban areas include the long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques, and the leaf monkey.

The Reuters report also quoted Azmi as saying

“The diseases could pose a threat to human health, but it gave no idea as to how the government now planned to tackle the problem.”

It is certainly very good news that there will be no more export of monkeys to satisfy the demand for exotic meat and the requirements of research laboratories for cruel animal experimentation, trials and testing

Now one wonders, what will be the fate of the estimated 250, 000 urban monkey population in Malaysia? (that is about 36% of the estimated total monkey population)

Will they be relocated?

Or, as I fear, will they be all exterminated?

The latter is the easy way out, and going by the way that other animals are treated in Malaysia, it may well be the government preferred way to solve the pesky monkey problem.

All animal lovers and conservationists must speak out and put pressure on the government of Malaysia to take urgent steps to relocate the urban monkey populations to their natural habitats, the primary and secondary forest, and the mangroves forests. One problem may be that the destruction of forests is continuing all over Malaysia, so this cutting down of forests also needs to be kept to the absolute minimum.

Please help the monkey population of Malaysia.

Yeghes da!