KOTA KINABALU, Oct 1 — The Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources viewed the brutal killing of a pygmy elephant in Sungai Udin, Dumpas, Kalabakan, Tawau, last Thursday, seriously.
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In this regard, the ministry, in cooperation with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), would assist the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) in conducting investigations and tracking down the poachers as this case involved firearms and was a serious crime.
“The SWD’s cooperation with the PDRM will be further strengthened in the future by adopting the model of joint action force between the police and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) and other enforcement agencies to prevent this crime from recurring in the future,” the ministry said in statement.
The pygmy elephants (Bornean Pygmy Elephant) are fully protected species under Schedule 1 of the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 and those involved could be prosecuted, it said.
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Those with information about the incident could contact and direct the information to SWD to assist in the investigation, it said.
Last Thursday, a group of anglers found the carcass of the pygmy elephant in Sungai Udin, Dumpas in Kalabakan, near Tawau, believed to have been dead for three to four days.
The female elephant estimated to be between 11 and 12 years old, with a height of 1.8 metres was found slumped near the river bank and initial inspection by a SWD team found gunshot wounds on the animal’s cheeks, head, body and back.- BERNAMA