We refer to the recent death of a young tapir in Hulu Langat, Selangor, which went viral on social media.

The incident raised massive outcry from netizens and the public at large for solutions to be found to reduce or eradicate such unfortunate incidents.

Recent news reports have also highlighted tapirs, elephants, tigers and other wildlife species killed on roads.

The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) views with great concern the increase of such incidents and calls on relevant authorities to take immediate measures to ensure wildlife and human conflicts precipitated by rapid development around the country be addressed as a priority.

The frequent encroachments by such developments and highways into wildlife habitats do not help. The latest addition to this is the East Coast Railway Link (ECRL) that is likely to compound the situation further.

The relevant authorities must work together to take immediate steps to mitigate such unnecessary deaths of wildlife, some of which are already classified as critically endangered.

The suggestion to set up a wildlife rescue unit within the Wildlife and National Parks Department is a good one and should be looked into. More could be done to create public awareness, as well as to educate and inform the public on the handling of wildlife.

Let us all collectively do our part to take necessary actions before it is too late.