Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Don't Ban Sale of Wild Boar Meat

Kota Kinabalu, Tuesday, June 29, 2010.

Datuk Wilfred Bumburing today urge the government to reconsider the proposal to ban the sale of wild boar saying wild boar meat are popular among the majority of non-Muslim Kadazandusun and Murut.

Bumburing said: “I urge the government to reconsider its proposal to ban the sale of wild boar as this trade has now complement the economic livelihood of those involved in the trade especially among the non-Muslim Kadazandusun. Firstly, the wild boar are shot and by hunters who have obtained hunting license from the relevant authority. And most of the hunting areas are in the Oil Palm plantation and as such it also help to reduce incident of crop damages to the oil palm as the wild boar also pose a menace to the plantations beside damages to other cash crops. Secondly, in the Tuaran district, wild boar meats are only sold at certain location such as roadside stall and few other selected places and a total ban on the sale of wild boar meats would deprive this people of earning some extra income.

On another note, it is rumored that the government will also ban the rearing of pigs or better know as “kampung pigs” in the open such as those found in various villages. Again the government must rethink of any such proposal as the rearing of pigs in the villages have been part an parcel of the traditional way of life of the Kadazandusun community at large. Pigs have also been largely used as sogits (a form of penalty) by the Mahkamah Anak Negeri for minor offences committed by any member of the KDM community.

What the pigs are to the majority of the KDM community is like what goats are to other communities who rears goats instead of pigs. In any village, especially in the rural areas, every KDM family would at least have a family of pigs among their domestic animal so wild boar meat and the rearing of pigs are part and parcel of the traditional way of like of the majority of the KDM community and UPKO would stand firm in its objection to proposed ban.”

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