The Terengganu Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) director, Loo Kean Seong has advised members of the public to never share any videos of wild animal sightings on social media. This is because the videos may notify poachers of the location of these beautiful creatures and would make the animals becoming a target of poaching.
As reported by national news agency Bernama, Loo instead advised Malaysians to send the videos to Perhilitan so that the department can facilitate further action. The Terengganu Perhilitan director further asserted,
“Sharing wildlife sighting videos on social media with details such as location and time they were spotted only gives an opportunity to irresponsible parties.”
“Perhaps the intention is for others to be careful with the existence of wild animals around the location but there are negative effects from sharing on social media and this must be stopped,”
Yesterday, a 33-seconds video went viral on social media showing a tiger spotted by a driver in Paka area. The original poster of the video claimed that the video was taken in Santong in Paka near Dungun and managed to record the movment of the tiger coming out of the bush and crossing the path used by villagers.
However, despite the video going viral, zero complaints or reports were received by Perhilitan from any party regarding the incident. Loo then reminded individuals who may be in the same position as the person behind the viral video to keep a safe distance from the animal as there are possibilities of the animal to act aggressively, especially if it is feeling threatened.
Furthermore, the Perhilitan director also said that taking video is fine if it is done from a safe distance and they must report the sighting to the department for further action.
What do you guys think of Perhilitan’s warning? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Also read: Kelantan Wildlife Department: Malayan Tigers Will Never Attack Humans Unless Threatened
