Four elephants found dead in Johor, activist points to potential poisoning

Four elephants have been discovered dead in Johor recently, which an environmental group claims is due to poisoning.

Damien Thanam, president of Peka (Protection of Natural Heritage of Malaysia), told Malaysiakini his concerns over the incident’s causes.

“It was likely an accident where the elephants consumed poison or a deliberate act of poisoning by landowners or operators,” stated Damien, who added that it was humans who were encroaching into wildlife habitats, not the other way around.

Damien also expressed the fear that failure to effectively manage human-wildlife conflicts could lead to more deaths and property losses.

He then criticised the Wildlife Department of Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan) for its lack of education and engagement with landowners, farmers and plantation operators on preserving wildlife corridors.

The activist also claimed that the department seems “muted” when natural habitats are destroyed by logging, plantations, mining and development projects.

“Perhilitan lacks the power to strongly object to and stop the destruction of wildlife habitats, food sources, breeding grounds and migratory routes,” Damien added, saying that there was a danger that the department was becoming a “courier service” for relocating wildlife from one conflict zone to another.

Safeguard natural heritage

Peka then urged the government to implement proposals to safeguard Malaysia’s natural heritage.

“What happens when the new area becomes crowded? What studies have been done to avoid this? What can be done when Perhilitan is mute when a new habitat is encroached by humans and destroyed?” he asked.

While welcoming the establishment of a compensation fund for farmers who experience crop damage caused by wildlife included in Budget 2024, Damien stressed the need for better implementation processes like training, public awareness and efficient payouts.

In the meantime, the group awaits findings from Perhilitan’s investigation into whether the elephant deaths were accidental or a criminal act requiring police reports.

“Perhilitan should be lodging a police report and provide full cooperation to finalise the extent of criminal acts if any,” he said.

Damien said he has submitted a list of urgent proposals to the National Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry for safeguarding Malaysia’s natural treasures.

He said that Peka’s top agenda is to call for a constitutional amendment to introduce a new article on “Conservation, Preservation and Protection of the Nation's Natural Heritage.”

The groups argue this enshrines the responsibility to bequeath a healthy environment for future generations.

Other key proposals include:

1) Immediately granting 100 percent protection status to all pollinator species like bees, birds and small mammals vital for food production.

2) A new multi-agency task force led by Perhilitan would enforce these protections.

3) Reclassifying Malaysia’s rivers to only allow for clean water extraction from Class 1-3 rivers. Class 4-5 polluted rivers would be prohibited from use and urgently rehabilitated.

4) Signing a binding “Zero Deforestation by 2030” agreement without opt-out clauses for future administrations.

5) Empowering Perhilitan to object to habitat destruction from logging, mining, plantations and quarries that affect wildlife corridors.

6) Establishing a special fund to compensate victims of human-wildlife conflict like crop/livestock damage, reducing retaliatory killings.

The groups are urging the unity government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to use its two-thirds parliamentary majority to expedite these proposals to preserve Malaysia’s natural heritage for posterity.

Investigation ongoing

Meanwhile, State Health and Environment Committee chairperson Ling Tian Soon was working closely with Johor Perhilitan in monitoring the incident involving an adult female elephant and three male elephants at the orchard in Kahang Timur.

“They are investigating and have taken samples of the elephant’s carcass to get more information.

“So far, the cause of death of all the elephants is still under investigation by Perhilitan,” he was reported as saying.

He also advised the public not to take action on their own but instead report to the authorities if involved in a conflict with wild animals such as elephants.

Johor Perhilitan director Aminuddin Jamin said his team will conduct a post-mortem on all the animals to identify the cause of death.

“So far, we have not been able to confirm whether all these elephants died due to poisoning or otherwise,” he said.

Meanwhile, Perak Perhilitan said a planned elephant sanctuary in the state will reduce human-wildlife conflict.

Director Yusof Shariff said only problematic elephants or those that are prone to causing conflict will be relocated to the sanctuary.

The sanctuary, announced by the federal government in July 2020, will be located at the 11th Mile, Jalan Raya Timur in Gerik.

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