Wildlife Disappearing in Arakan

4/7/2010

By Tun Tun, Sittwe: Wild animals in Arakan State have become scarce due to indiscriminate killing by hunters and locals, reports an environmental worker and other sources.

The environmental worker said, "We are unable to see deer, barking deer, sambur, tiger, or wild boars in the jungle currently because the animals have become rare in our state after so many have been killed by local people to sell and to eat for food."

In several mountain restaurants located at the top of the Arakan Roma along the Rangoon - Taungup highway, the meat of wild animals is available on the menu at any time and restaurants are selling the meat freely without any prohibition.

"We all can see the signboards and disk menus with the names of several kinds of meat of wild animals out in front of the restaurant entrances. The meat of deer, barking deer, and sambur are available at all times in the restaurants," the source said.

Hundreds of wild animals have been killed by hunters and locals for the restaurants over the last 50 years, but the authority has not yet prohibited the killing of wild animals for food in the area.

A farmer from Taungup said, "We were able to see the wild animals anywhere in Arakan Roma in the past, but now we can not see the animals even if we go deep into the jungles in Arakan Roma. I am a mountain cultivator so I know the animals will be extinct in our state in the future."

Arakan Roma is a famous mountain range in Burma because so many kinds of animals inhabit the area, but the wild animals are becoming increasingly scarce from the hunting. In addition to restaurants, the dried meat of the wild animals are available everywhere in Arakan State, such as at jetties, bus stations, and markets.

"Many poor people in rural areas in Arakan are involved in the business of selling the meat of wild animals just to survive. If this rate of killing of wild animals continues, the deer, barking deer, sambur, and wild boar will disappear from our state in the near future," the environmental worker concluded.