Being native to Southeast Asian tropical forests, the sun bear has become one of our most distinctive species. Sadly, it is also one of the species that is constantly subjected to poor conditions and neglect in Malaysia.
A laketown resort in Bagan Serai, Perak has recently drawn flak for allegedly keeping its animals in substandard living conditions, including a sun bear which was put down over a fungal infection. In a report by The Star, Friends of Orang Utan director Upreshpal Singh was made aware of the situation after receiving a complaint from the organisation Malaysian Friends of the Animals.
“(They) sent us the photos and we reached out to the Bukit Merah Laketown Eco Park on this issue in December. Later, we learnt that one of the four sun bears had to be euthanised,” he said in an interview. He later found out that the sun bear had contracted an acute fungus infection in its lower jaw. Following the advice of an independent veterinarian and the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan), it was decided that the poor animal be euthanised to put an end to its suffering.
Source: The Star
The bear is allegedly far from the only wildlife in the resort which is at risk. Upreshpal added that he and his team had seen the cages before and deemed them “completely unsuitable for the complex needs of the sun bears”, and echoed this sentiment for the python enclosure, which he said did not “mimic the conditions in the wild”. Supposedly, rabbits there are also being cramped in small cages together.
Below is a video recording of the sun bear in its alleged cage at the laketown resort:
Source: Youtube
Malaysian Nature Society Penang advisor Kanda Kumar said he had not received any complaint about the mistreatment of animals at the resort, and that someone would have been sent to check on the situation if there had been any. He reiterated that the sun bear’s euthanisation was likely approved by Perhilitan, since the organisation’s staff were present during the process, and sun bears cannot be put down without prior permission given their status as protected animals.
In fact, the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies sun bears as a ‘Vulnerable’ species. No thanks to habitat reduction and poaching in Southeast Asia, the population of these fuzzy creatures is estimated to have declined by 30% over the past 30 years.
In addition to that, Bukit Merah Laketown Eco Park technical advisor and veterinary surgeon Dr D. Sabapathy claimed he was unaware about the zoo’s current conditions, as he believed the zoo had been closed down, and resort management had not updated him as of late.
The laketown resort was founded in 1997, and its Ecopark is one of four main attractions there. A look at the establishment’s Facebook page shows that the Ecopark is still under maintenance until further notice, as of February 27.
If the allegations are indeed true, we hope those poor animals can be given proper medical treatment, or rescued as soon as possible. No matter how great the demand for ecotourism may be, it should never be prioritised over the health and well-being of these precious creatures.
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