Pigging Out on Malaysia's Endangered Wildlife

On Oct 2, The Star ran an excellent special feature on the practice of eating endangered and exotic species of wildlife in Malaysia, complete with appalling photographs. Here is a brief excerpt from one of the linked articles:

Restaurants serving exotic dishes can be found in many places in the country.

In one such restaurant in the Klang Valley, the menu included dishes not for the faint-hearted – snake soup, fried squirrel, black pepper serow (mountain goat), turtle soup, stir-fried monitor lizard, stewed crocodile and wild boar curry.... When one of the restaurant workers was asked if they served tiger meat or sun bear paw, she said not for a long time because there was a lack of supplies, apparently due to strict enforcement.

According to Andy Ho (not his real name),...people generally ate exotic food to boost energy and improve health. On his part, he admits, it’s more for the novelty of it....

Since exotic foods are also highly sought after for their aphrodisiac properties, it is not unusual for a group of men to frequent such restaurants. In fact, Ho says, there were usually brothels located near such restaurants for obvious reasons.

And so it goes...the greedy cater to the horny, the ignorant and the thrill-seekers -- I refer to those who want to own exotic pets or display unusual trophies as well as those who want to eat endangered species -- and the animals die.

I took this picture of Nicky at the Malacca Zoo recently. She is amazing. And I love the spikes on her beautiful red collar -- as if she's not plenty macha without them!

The case of Nicky, the Malayan tiger cub recently rescued from being killed and cooked, has focused media and public attention on the issue. (The Star, in fact, is sponsoring Nicky at her new home -- sadly, in permanent captivity -- at The Malacca Zoo. A recent Star story reported the Zoo's plans for breeding Nicky in the future.

Please, Star and other media, continue to cover the issue, keep it in the public eye and help us push the government for stronger action. Otherwise, the day will come, and soon, when the only tigers, rhinos, elephants and other endangered species will be captives, and they will be the lucky ones.

The bushmeat trade is an epidemic in Africa, as well, where our closest primate relatives are often the victims of choice. When you see a gorilla being barbecued, you suddenly question where the line demarcating cannibalism lies. Planet of the Dead Apes is a heart-wrenching brief article about the bushmeat tragedy in Africa. Be warned, the accompanying pictures are nauseating. They were taken by Karl Ammann, an activist, writer and nature photographer who campaigns relentlessly against the bushmeat business. His website is chock-a-block with information about the problem, and a lot more photos, not all of them gruesome.