Baby Elephant's Needless Death

A letter from RSC on the recent death of the baby elephant found at Kampung Chepor was published in the New Straits Times on Friday, June 30. It was published with the heart-wrenching photo below too. Please note that STAR journalist Hillary Chiew's excellent focus story and many other letters in the newspapers have addressed the same issue of incompetence on the part of Perhilitan staff.

Blame it on lack of care and ignorance
30 Jun 2006
SHOBA MANO, Remembering Sheena Campaign, Subang Jaya

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THE "Remembering Sheena Campaign" is distressed over the recent death of Mat Chepor, the orphaned elephant calf that was found at Kampung Chepor in Lenggong.

The death of this elephant calf once again highlights the fact that not just our Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) officers but others entrusted with the care and protection of wildlife and domestic pets are not really doing their job well.

The veterinarian who certified its death said Mat Chepor had died of exhaustion and dehydration.

If Perhilitan did not know how to intelligently move Mat Chepor — it was to have been relocated to Kuala Gandah, Pahang — they should have sought the expertise of the Malaysian Nature Society, a local non-governmental organisation with a better track record of being caring and knowledgeable about animals.

Anyone who claims to have experience in animal welfare would know that a baby elephant would dehydrate when dragged for hours from one place to another. Adequate preparations should have been made, and rest and water provided to it.

Our entire education system and websites of the Department of Veterinary Services and Perhilitan have hardly anything on the issue of "animal welfare". This only goes to show how little this matters to them.