WWF-Malaysia is yet again dismayed to note that one more Malayan tiger is lost from the wild, as reported yesterday in the media of a tiger caught in a wild pig trap in Tapah ( The Star , ‘Injured tiger rescued in Tapah’, New Straits Times , ‘Trapped tiger rescued in Tapah’ and Berita Harian , ‘Harimau Terperangkap Dalam Jerat Babi’).

In a span of about a month we have lost six tigers in the wild, including two cubs. This is a considerable amount of wild tigers lost in such a short span of time.

In this case, we applaud the fact that the Orang Asli whose snare caught the tiger did not try to kill or sell the tiger, but instead stepped forward and reported the incident to the authorities. This perhaps shows some level of understanding by this Orang Asli of the tiger’s critical status.

However, although the Orang Asli are allowed to hunt wild pigs, the use of snares by anyone including the Orang Asli is strictly prohibited according to the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010. Under this act, anyone found guilty of possessing or setting snares is liable to a maximum penalty of RM100,000 or three years jail term.

Hence awareness on this prohibition within this law for the general public and in particular the Orang Asli needs to be increased. This is where the Department of Orang Asli Development and other relevant agencies can increase their efforts in educating the Orang Asli, especially in creating awareness on subsistence hunting and livelihoods.

WWF-Malaysia would like to reiterate that it is crucial now more than ever to ensure that our forests are well protected and managed by increasing resources or having joint collaboration work with the agencies working on the ground.

We hope that the injuries faced by this tiger are not serious and that it would be released back to the wild if it makes a full recovery.

DIONYSIUS SHARMA is executive director/CEO of the World Wide Fund for Nature-Malaysia.