Huge Ivory Seizure in Malaysia

Possibly the largest ever....full story here in Wildlife Extra News.

December 2011. Malaysian authorities have seized a staggering 15 tonnes of elephant ivory in Port Klang, just west of Kuala Lumpur; the sixth and by far the largest major seizure involving Malaysia in recent months, quite possibly the largest ever.

Smuggled Boa Constrictors Bust Out of Luggage

Bizarre.

From USA Today...

A Malaysian man has pleaded guilty to wildlife smuggling after his luggage packed with 95 live boa constrictors broke open on a conveyor belt at Kuala Lumpur International airport.

TRAFFIC Says Malaysian Raid Proves Organized Crime Link

From the Malaysian Insider...

A police raid that uncovered 42 stolen vehicles and a mini-zoo of exotic animals in Taman Wahyu here yesterday is proof that wildlife trafficking is linked to organised crime, said wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC.

Police said the vehicles were stolen from impound yards and were worth nearly RM1 million while at least two Birds of Paradise found in the warehouse in Taman Wahyu were said to be worth RM1 million each on the black market.

Malaysia Approves Controversial Research Lab

The investigation cleared the animal lab.

From Straits Time...

MALAYSIA will not shut down a controversial British-funded animal testing lab after investigations showed that the animals were not exposed to torture, a senior official said on Thursday.

The veterinary services department launched a probe this month after animal rights campaigners accused the Progenix Research lab based in the northern state of Penang of cruelty to animals.

The lab, which is run by the Britain-based Alpha Biologics, uses monkeys, dogs, rodents and rabbits for toxicology testing. Veterinary services department director Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin said there was no evidence that Progenix abused animals and that it would not order the facility to be closed.

British-Funded Lab Under Investigation in Malaysia

Malaysia, under pressure from animal rights activists, is going to investigate Progenix Labs.

Malaysia is considering shutting down a controversial British-funded animal testing lab if there is evidence of cruelty there, the goverment's top veterinary official said on Sunday.

Animal rights campaigners have accused the Progenix Research lab, which uses monkeys, dogs, rodents and rabbits for toxicology testing, of poisoning the animals to death.

Veterinary Services director Abdul Aziz Jamaludin said the company will be ordered to shut down if his department finds animals were subject to abuse, the Sunday Star newspaper reported.

"If animal testing cannot be conducted in the United States or Europe, I see no reason why they should be allowed here," Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying.

Malaysian Official Says God Made Animals for Testing

This is pretty vile in my opinion.

From the AP....

A Malaysian government official defended an Indian company's plans to build an animal testing medicine lab in his state, saying Monday that God created monkeys and rats for experiments to benefit humans.

The plans by India's Vivo BioTech Ltd. to set up a biotechnology center in southern Malacca state has come under fire by activists because it will conduct tests on dogs and primates to make medicines. The activists say Malaysia has no regulations on animal research, which could lead to test subjects being abused.

But Malacca Chief Minister Mohamad Ali Rustam said the lab had received state approval, and animal testing was necessary to make drugs. The project is still in the planning phase.

"God created animals for the benefits of human beings. That's why he created rats and monkeys ... We cannot test on human beings," he told The Associated Press. "This is the way it has to be. God created monkeys, and some have to be tested."

Animal Testing Center to Open in Malaysia

Caution on this story. Disturbing picture of monkey being injected.

Tiger Dies from Poaching Injuries in Malaysia

Sad. Another tiger lost.

Weird Meat Seized in Malaysia

Ewwww....I don't know how I come across these weird stories. In Malaysia, 12 tonnes of exotic animal meat was seized from smugglers. It consisted of bear, iguana and owl meat.

Any kind of meat is gross to me, but owl? That's new to me!

Pangolins Saved from "Harvesting" by Trafficker

I had no idea what a pangolin was, but, thanks to Wikipedia, I now know it's a scaly anteater.

And, surprise, their "harvesting" is tied back to ....CHINA!

From Red Orbit....

In its biggest seizures of pangolins this year, Malaysia’s Wildlife and National Parks Department confiscated 98 animals from a house in Alor Setar in the northern state of Kedah.

After about three weeks of surveillance and investigations, the department’s Wildlife Crime Unit raided the house early Wednesday morning and found the smuggled pangolins along with 6.5 pounds of pangolin scales..

"We believe the animals were destined to be sold to Asian countries for their meat, as well as their scales to be used as traditional medicine," the department's enforcement chief Saharudin Anan told AFP.

Malaysia is One of the Centers of Wildlife Trafficking

Malaysia is a transit hub, a supply source, and a consumer hub for endangered wildlife. A deadly combination.

Malaysian Firm to Establish New Animal Testing Facility

The stupid project is in partnership with a French pharmaceutical company. Fortunately, there are Malaysian activists opposing it. But of course, the argument will be that the project is economic development, jobs and "for the good of humanity."

Attempt to Recover Sumatran Rhino Species

A breeding program in Malaysia will attempt to breed a rescued Borneo Sumatran rhino in order to save the endangered species.

Tam, whose species is known for its solitary nature, has been resettled in a wildlife reserve in Malaysia's Sabah state, the last preserve of the Borneo Sumatran rhino _ a subspecies of the bristly, snub-nosed Sumatran rhino.

Authorities hope to bring at least five male and female rhinos into the reserve over the next few years so that they can mate and produce offspring, said Junaidi Payne, the senior technical adviser for the World Wildlife Fund's Malaysian Borneo chapter.

"Their numbers are so low that they might drift into extinction if no one does anything," Payne told The Associated Press.

Experts cannot confirm how many Borneo Sumatran rhinos remain in the wild, but estimates range from 10 to 30 individuals, many of them isolated from others in their species.