MALACCA: Lately, there has been a lot of news about wild animals like tigers, elephants and tapir straying into human areas and causing conflict.
Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) president, Prof Dr Ahmad Ismail, said wild animals need space to find food, a mate and establish territory.
“Unsystematic forest exploration is shrinking the forest. Human settlements close to animal habitats are having an impact on wildlife home range and forcing the animals to wander into human territory,” he said when contacted by Bernama recently.
Take for example small animals like the easily adaptable monkeys and the conflict that has arisen because they trespass on people’s property to forage for food.
Prof Ahmad said to resolve the problem, everyone — particularly the authorities and town planners — must comprehend the concept of sustainable development and give thought to the balance of nature.
In addition to this, he said, agencies like the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan), Forestry Department and district councils can help enhance public understanding of wildlife in an area, while legislation should be brought up to date because a lot of things need to be reevaluated.
He said a review would also address overlapping in the law and should be done holistically. — Bernama
