Consuming rhino horn is like to eating finger nails
KOTA KINABALU April 16, 2012: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said there are only 200 Sumatran Rhinos left on earth and only 30 of the 200 rhinos are living in Sabah.
He said they were killed for their horns, which were believed to be nutritious.
However, the minister stressed that rhino horns do not carry additional nutrients, as a scientist told him.
In fact, consuming a rhino horn is similar to eating a person’s finger nails, he pointed out.
Masidi said that at the Sime Darby Rhino Walk which was held in conjunction with the Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia (MSAM) here yesterday.
“If we keep on hunting (Sumatran Rhinos), there will be no more Sumatran Rhinos left in Sabah.”
Sime Darby, through its foundation, Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD), has committed RM11.4 million for Borneo Rhino Sanctuary (BRS) located at Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu from 2009 till 2015.
The project is a collaboration with Sabah Wildlife Department and Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) to conserve the critically endangered Sumatran Rhinos.
Masidi also urged corporations in Sabah to save endangered species as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme as done by Sime Darby.
“We can be rich, but the best inheritance to leave for our next generation is those who are endangered, so that the next generation can appreciate them,” he said.
The Sim Darby Rhino Walk attracted more than 6,000 participants from all walks of life.
Masidi also urged the public to visit MSAM 2012, saying that it would be an educational week, as well as a stimulant and source of inspiration to improve the State’s economy.
The walk also aimed to help raise awareness of the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary initiative in the State.
Meanwhile, Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad executive director Dato’ Idris Kechot said the Sime Darby Rhino Walk was previously held in Kampung Sungai Kayu, Sandakan on March 31 and Tuaran on April 7.
Also present was YSM Adminsitrative Council member Datuk Adeline Leong.
Too bad people will believe in these unproven remedies to boost their health or help cure diseases, but consuming rhino horns, elephant tusks, or other animal parts from endangered wildlife have never proven by any scientist in the world.
BalasPadamThey are too foolish and greedy people!
PadamBodohlah makan tanduk badak sumbu, tiada bukti sains langsung bahawa tanduk itu boleh merawat penyakit pun.
PadamHope that the Ministry of Tourism will be able to spread awareness that consuming wildlife parts are not proven by scientist to have nutrition values so that people can stop hunting these animals for no reason, which cause them to go extinct.
BalasPadamWe need to protect the almost extinct Sumatarian Rhino's, especially since we have only 30 of them left in Sabah alone. This is a very rare species, if they are not protected, they will soon disappear from the face of earth.
BalasPadamSay it to the hunters!
PadamNo demand, no supply. Manusia perlu disedarkan bahawa tiada bukti saintifik langsung tentang pemakanan tanduk badak sumbu supaya mereka tidak lagi membeli.
PadamThe Borneo rhino is considered to be a separate subspecies (D. S. harrissoni) from the rhinos on Sumatra and mainland Malaysia.
BalasPadamThey feed on the leaves of a wide variety of seedlings and young trees.
PadamUnlike other rhino species and other large herbivorous mammals in Borneo (elephant, wild cattle, deer), the Sumatran rhino is a strict forest-dweller that ventures out of forest cover only in unusual situations.
PadamSumatran rhinos are currently found in Peninsular Malaysia, and on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
PadamThe main reasons for the drop in rhino numbers are due to illegal hunting and the fact that the remaining rhinos are so isolated they may rarely or never meet to breed.
PadamIn addition, there is evidence that a high proportion of the female rhinos on Borneo have reproductive problems. Many of the remaining rhinos are old and possibly beyond reproductive age, so the death rate may be exceeding the birth rate.
PadamOther threatened wildlife in Borneo includes clouded leopards, sun bears, and three species of leaf monkeys found nowhere else in the world.
PadamThe island is also home to ten primate species, more than 350 bird species, 150 reptiles and amphibians and 15,000 plants.
PadamA field survey of Sabah’s rhinos in May 2005 involved about 120 people in 16 teams.
PadamIt was undertaken by the Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Parks, the Sabah Foundation, WWF-Malaysia, the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project, SOS Rhino, Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Operation Raleigh.
PadamAlso participating in the effort to protect Borneo’s remaining rhinos are the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Sabah Foundation, SOS Rhino and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Padambest efforts at protecting the habitat as well as the rhinos.
BalasPadamThe Borneo Rhino Sanctuary will be developed as a large fenced area inside Tabin Wildlife Reserve, to be populated by rhinos translocated from sites where they are not breeding. What conservation scientists now know about the Bornean rhino is that it is a creature that favours the cover of the forest canopy and seems to require a combination of nutrients and minerals from wild plants and the natural salt licks which are a feature of Tabin, as well as clay-rich soils for constructing mud wallows. The small population of rhinos in Tabin and Borneo Rhino Sanctuary will be managed in an attempt to boost the breeding rate, as well as to prevent the death of rhinos by illegal hunting and trapping.
BalasPadamIn early 2008, the national government of Malaysia launched the Sabah Development Corridor programme to promote a more rapid approach to development in Sabah. The official Sabah Development Corridor document, page 189, section 7.4.9 Rhino Rescue Programme clearly states that “guaranteeing the sub-species protection is no longer sufficient to ensure its survival” and that “Lack of breeding and inbreeding present the most immediate threat”. The document also concluded that it was necessary to establish a closely-managed population in a designated area.
BalasPadamJust hope this warning will be taken into notice by the hunters.
Padammereka yang memburu secara haram harus dikenakan hukuman yang berat.
PadamLet us not think about the money only, we should think twice for our future generations.
BalasPadamya..kita juga perlu fikirkan mengenai generasi akan datang, jangan pentingkan diri saja.
PadamEveryone should know the seriousness in hunting Rhinos. Hope the hunters would realize that.
BalasPadamkempen kesedaran harus dibuat utk memberikan kesedaran terhadap masyarakat.
PadamRhino harus dilindungi, ia makin diancam kepupusan.
BalasPadamspesis ini memang perlu dilindungi untuk mengelak kepupusan.
Padamusaha harus dibuat untuk memastikan spesis badak ini terus kekal.
BalasPadamKita harus sama-sama menjaga hidupan yang pupus ini. Ini bagi usaha mengekalkannya sehingga kegenerasi akan datang.
BalasPadamBukan saja Rhino jika boleh semua binatang yang terancam. Seperti Penyu pun antara binatang yang perlu kita jaga.
BalasPadambermakna tidak ada apa2 keistimewaan terhadap tanduk badak sumbu ini.. entah kenapa ianya sangat laris sedangkan nilainya sama seperti kuku manusia..
BalasPadamBadak sumbu Borneo sangat unik dan berbeza dengan badak sumbu di negara lain.. amat rugi jika kita tidak menjaga khazana alam Sabah ini dengan baik dan membiarkannya diancam kepupusan..
BalasPadam