Published by EMIR Research.
Wildlife trading and hunting not only damage our ecosystem, it also has the potential to bring a previously unknown disease to threaten humanity.
A lot of wildlife that have been integral to maintaining the Earth’s ecosystem have a steep decrease in their population due to wildlife trading and hunting, as the poachers are hunting them down to sell to the market.
This has created a whole new source of threat to humanity as animals have their own form of diseases carried by viruses and bacteria.
Most of the time, the disease is harmless to human, but if it can infect human, the threat might be too much for us to handle.
Issues of wildlife trading started to surface from the “deep sea” of news reporting in the initial stage of the outbreak of Covid-19. Multiple experts believe that the disease started because of wildlife trading.
Wildlife trading is a major threat towards the animal concerned regardless of its species and whether it is exotic or not.
Poachers do not care much about what animal they are hunting. As long as there is demand in the market, they will somehow find a way to hunt down the animal.
One of the most common examples regarding this issue relates to elephants. Elephants are known for their trunks and their tusks.
People have been hunting elephants in order to get their tusks. This has been responsible for the massive decrease in the elephant population and it has a serious impact on our environment.
According to a website, One Green Planet, the number of elephants and the number of trees is related with one another.
Researchers have observed a distressing trend in that in areas where the elephants have become extinct, some local species of trees have become extinct as well.
Elephants is one of the most important species capable of helping to spread huge amount of seeds in a short amount of time.
Especially in Asian forests, large seeds require giant herbivores (plant eating animal) like elephants to spread their seeds.
In speaking of this, wildlife hunting and trading are said to be responsible for the numerous spreading of epidemic as well.
Covid-19 was said to be originated from a wildlife trading market that sold exotic animals for people to consume.
However, this is not the first time where a disease that originated from animals is transmitted to humans.
Most of the major outbreaks of the coronavirus can be traced back to the wildlife.
The first major outbreak that has a major impact on our society is the virus that had caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which originated from bats. Then from bats, SARS virus was transmitted to civets and finally to humans.
Coronavirus is not the only virus that originated from animals.
HIV and Ebola also originated from wildlife, from non-human primates and fruit bats respectively.
With all these implications, it is clear that we should try our hardest to curb and do away with wildlife trading, in order to protect the ecosystem from breaking down and to protect us humans from the infection of unknown diseases.
However, has Malaysia done a good job in counteracting the poachers and traders of wildlife?
We have different set of laws across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. The Act to protect wildlife are generally similar with one another. The only difference is in the sentences meted out to the offenders.
Yet, across all the three Acts from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, wildlife is still not fully protected against illegal trading and poaching. All the laws to protect wildlife across Malaysia allow hunting and trading with permit and licence, as long as the hunt or trade follow the rules or laws.
Although a hunter is different from a poacher, the former still kills and destroys wildlife. In other words, the population of wildlife is still being threatened. We need to strengthen the law to better protect our wildlife. All hunting of protected wildlife should be prohibited with or without hunting license or special permit.
Although the laws to protect wildlife in East Malaysia offer total protection for totally protected wildlife, the current law for Peninsular Malaysia still make an exception for hunters with special permits. Hunters with special permits can still hunt totally protected wildlife such as elephants and tigers.
While the above suggestion will protect wildlife, it would also enrage the hunters in our society.
But it is the right thing to do.
China, the epicentre of Covid-19, has recently stepped up its efforts to curb wildlife trading. There is no reason for us to not follow suit.
For the punishment of poachers, the government should impose a heavier penalty on them. The current penalties are not enough to deter them from poaching our wildlife.
Wildlife conservation non-government organisations (NGOs) have urged the government to adopt stronger measures against poachers who are hunting the critically endangered big cat especially Malayan tigers as their population is dwindling to below two hundred.
They are an essential part of our environment and ecosystem.
As we continue to move forward in time, we too have to take care of the wildlife. At the end of the day, if they are destroyed, the ecosystem too will be damaged.
Jamari Mohtar and Chia Chu Hang are part of the research team of EMIR Research, an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.
Diterbitkan oleh Berita Harian, gambar daripada Berita Harian.
Perdagangan dan perburuan hidupan liar bukan sahaja merosakkan ekosistem, bahkan berpotensi membawa penyakit termasuk yang baru ditemui, tetapi mampu mengancam manusia.
Walaupun kewujudan hidupan liar amat penting untuk mengekalkan ekosistem, ia menghadapi kepupusan sangat serius akibat kegiatan pemburuan haram.
Ini mewujudkan sumber ancaman baharu kepada manusia kerana haiwan mempunyai penyakit tersendiri yang dibawa virus dan bakteria. Biasanya, ia tidak berbahaya, tetapi jika menjangkiti manusia, kemungkinan besar ia akan menjadi terlalu sukar ditangani.
Isu perdagangan hidupan liar muncul dalam pelbagai laporan pada peringkat awal penularan coronavirus (COVID-19) dan kebanyakan pakar percaya penyakit itu bermula kerananya.
Perdagangan hidupan liar adalah ancaman utama kepada haiwan tanpa mengira spesies atau sama ada eksotik atau tidak. Pemburu haram tidak peduli sama sekali, selagi ada permintaan pasaran, mereka akan memburu haiwan berkenaan.
Gajah umpamanya diburu kerana gading. Ini menyebabkan penurunan besar jumlah gajah, sekali gus memberikan impak serius terhadap sekitaran kita. Menurut laman web One Green Planet, bilangan gajah dan jumlah pokok sangat berkaitan.
Penyelidik mengesan tren menyedihkan, iaitu dalam kawasan gajah pupus, sesetengah spesies pokok turut pupus kerana gajah spesies paling penting dalam membantu penyebaran banyak benih pokok dan tanaman dalam masa singkat.
Di hutan Asia, biji benih besar memerlukan haiwan herbivor gergasi seperti gajah untuk menyebarkan benih.
Perburuan dan perdagangan hidupan liar juga dikatakan bertanggungjawab terhadap penyebaran wabak penyakit juga.
COVID-19 dikatakan berasal daripada pasaran perdagangan hidupan liar yang menjual haiwan eksotik untuk dimakan. Bagaimanapun, ia bukan kali pertama penyakit berasal daripada haiwan disebarkan kepada manusia.
Sebaliknya, kebanyakan wabak besar coronavirus dikesan sebagai bermula daripada hidupan liar.
Wabak utama pertama memberi impak besar kepada masyarakat kita ialah virus yang menyebabkan Sindrom Pernafasan Akut Teruk (SARS) berasal daripada kelawar. Virus SARS kemudian disebarkan ke musang dan akhirnya ke manusia.
Coronavirus bukan satu-satunya virus yang berasal daripada haiwan. HIV dan Ebola juga berasal daripada hidupan liar. HIV berasal daripada kera dan monyet, manakala Ebola pula berasal daripada kelawar.
Dengan semua implikasi ini, jelas kita harus berusaha gigih mengekang dan menghapuskan perdagangan hidupan liar demi untuk melindungi ekosistem dan manusia daripada jangkitan penyakit tidak diketahui.
Namun, apakah Malaysia sudah melakukan yang terbaik dalam mengatasi pemburu haram dan perdagangan hidupan liar?
Kita mempunyai pelbagai undang-undang di seluruh negara. Akta melindungi hidupan liar lebih kurang sama satu sama lain. Perbezaan hanya hukuman kepada pesalah.
Namun, dalam ketiga-tiga Akta dari Semenanjung, Sabah dan Sarawak, hidupan liar masih tidak dilindungi sepenuhnya daripada perdagangan serta pemburu haram.
Semua undang-undang melindungi hidupan liar di seluruh Malaysia membenarkan pemburuan dan perdagangan dengan permit dan lesen, selagi perburuan atau perdagangan mematuhi peraturan atau undang-undang.
Walaupun pemburu berbeza antara mereka, kesan kegiatan tetap sama iaitu membunuh dan memusnahkan hidupan liar. Dengan lain perkataan, hidupan liar masih terancam.
Kita perlu memperkukuhkan undang-undang untuk melindungi hidupan liar dengan lebih baik. Semua perburuan hidupan liar dilindungi harus dilarang dengan atau tanpa lesen memburu atau permit khas.
Walaupun undang-undang untuk melindungi hidupan liar di Malaysia Timur menawarkan perlindungan sepenuh untuk hidupan liar yang dilindungi sepenuhnya, undang-undang semasa bagi Semenanjung masih membuat pengecualian untuk pemburu dengan permit khas yang masih boleh memburu hidupan liar dilindungi sepenuhnya seperti gajah dan harimau.
Walaupun cadangan itu akan dapat melindungi hidupan liar, ia juga akan menimbulkan kemarahan kepada kalangan pemburu dalam masyarakat kita. Namun, ia perkara betul untuk dilakukan.
China yang paling ramai dijangkiti COVID-19, meningkatkan usaha membendung perdagangan hidupan liar baru-baru ini. Tidak ada alasan untuk kita tidak mengikutinya.
Dari segi hukuman pemburu haram, kerajaan harus mengenakan hukuman lebih berat. Hukuman sedia ada tidak cukup untuk menghalang mereka daripada memburu hidupan liar.
Pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) pemuliharaan hidupan liar menggesa kerajaan mengamalkan langkah lebih kukuh terhadap pemburu haram yang memburu kucing besar terancam, terutama harimau Malaya kerana jumlahnya semakin berkurangan hingga tahap kurang 200 ekor.
Mereka bahagian amat penting dalam sekitaran dan ekosistem kita. Sedang kita terus melangkah ke depan dalam memajukan teknologi dan negara, kita juga perlu menjaga hidupan liar kerana jika hidupan liar dimusnahkan, ekosistem kita juga akan mengalami kerosakan dan begitu juga manusia!
Jamari Mohtar dan Chia Chu Hang adalah sebahagian daripada pasukan penyelidik dari EMIR Research, sebuah organisasi pemikir bebas yang berfokuskan kepada pencernaan saranan-saranan dasar strategik berteraskan penyelidikan yang terperinci, konsisten dan menyeluruh.
