Public tip-off leads to rescue of barred eagle-owl in Miri

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The owl was rescued from the premises of a grocery shop by SFC.

MIRI: A rare owl has been rescued by the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) after it was found to have been kept illegally in the premises of a grocery shop today.

Thanks to a tip-off from the public, SFC managed to carry out an enforcement operation that led to the rescue of the barred eagle-owl.

“Upon receiving information on Sunday evening (Oct 27), the enforcement team from SFC Miri Regional Office was dispatched yesterday morning at 10am to the premises at Jalan Merpati, Miri.

The team discovered the barred eagle-owl, which is a protected animal,” said SFC chief executive officer Zolkipli Mohamad Aton in a statement today.

The owl is protected under Sarawak’s Wild Life Protection Ordinance, 1998, whereby killing, keeping, selling, buying the animal or its derivatives are prohibited by the law and if found guilty, the perpetrator can be jailed for one year and fined RM10,000.

Zolkipli extended his gratitude to members of the public who have assisted SFC in curtailing the illegal wildlife trading in Sarawak.

“We believe in educating the public on the importance of the Wild Life Protection Ordinance, 1998 as well as enforcing the law. We mean business,” he said.

He urged those keeping protected animals without a licence to surrender them to the nearest SFC office before action is taken against them.

Members of the public can lodge a report with SFC if they find anyone keeping or selling protected animals.

Those with information on similar illegal activities are urged to call SFC hotlines at 016-8565564/019-8859996 (Kuching), 019-8883561 (Sibu), 019-8223449/019-8332737 (Bintulu) and 019-8290994/018-9799778 (Miri).