Dr. Rosa Sipangkui, Veterinary Officer from Sabah Wildlife Department in Sabah, Malaysia, explaining the management of rescued animals at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park to Alexter Japrin, Senior Ranger from Conservation Medicine, a UNODC partner organization conducting the SAFE Risk Assessment Framework questionnaire. Photo: Conservation Medicine
Bangkok, Thailand, 27 February, 2023 – The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Environment Team and its implementing partner Conservation Medicine have been conducting field visits to facilities legally handling wildlife in the Malaysian state of Sabah. The visits are part of the SAFE Project, which aims to help government agencies and facilities that manage wildlife better understand the disease risks they face, with a focus on animal–human disease transmission. This regional effort – which includes visits to similar wildlife facilities in Thailand, Viet Nam and Lao PDR – involves close collaboration with relevant government agencies in each country to support them in their ongoing efforts to improve biosafety, biosecurity and sanitation standards at these facilities.
In Sabah, located on the north of the island of Borneo, the field visits were carried out between May and August 2023, with support from Sabah Wildlife Department. The team assessed 44 facilities that were identified as theoretically having the highest risk of disease transmission between animals and humans, and the findings were discussed with Sabah Wildlife Department at a National Advisory Committee meeting in October 2023.
“Currently, relevant laws and regulations are unclear on the standards that need to be followed, with conflicting responsibilities of different government agencies and gaps in legislation that make it hard for government agencies to properly enforce rules and regulations. There is a lack of clear biosafety, biosecurity, health, and sanitation guidance and standard operating procedures for privately owned facilities to follow, and in many cases owners and workers at facilities do not understand the public health importance of following these guidelines,” explained Tom Hughes, Director of Conservation Medicine.
The assessment findings noted the importance of strengthening existing systems used to register and monitor facilities legally handling wildlife, and the need for clear guidelines on biosafety, biosecurity, health and sanitation – as well as standard operating procedures (SOPs) – aimed at privately owned facilities.
An injured civet surrendered by a local villager is rehabilitated at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park’s clinic before being released back into its natural habitat. Photo: Conservation Medicine.
The 44 facilities visited included 17 wildlife restaurants, seven zoos and parks, six facilities where the public can interact directly with wildlife, nine wildlife farms, one wildlife market, three primate facilities and one pet shop.
Data collection involved interviews with owners and staff and a site visit of each facility. The SAFE project developed a qualitative survey that used a mix of closed and open-ended questions for each facility. For example, “Where are the animals in the facility sourced from?”, “Is there a dedicated area for animal or biological waste?”, or “Does the facility employ veterinary staff?”. The site visit component involved a walk through of each facility to assess conditions, animal health, actual facility biosafety, biosecurity, and sanitation practices, as well as adherence to relevant laws and regulations.
Alexter Japrin of Conservation Medicine conducting the UNODC SAFE Risk Assessment Framework questionnaire with Dr. Rosa Sipangkui of Sabah Wildlife Department, for the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. Photo: Conservation Medicine
One of the seven zoos and parks studied in Sabah was Lok Kawi Wildlife Park (LKWP), which is managed by Sabah Wildlife Department. LKWP showcases a diverse array of local wildlife species, including the endangered Bornean elephants, sun bears, orangutans, proboscis monkeys and clouded leopards. It primarily houses animals sourced from rescue cases and exchanges with other zoos, playing a crucial role both as a tourist attraction in Kota Kinabalu and a dedicated centre for wildlife conservation, rescue and rehabilitation. LKWP faces some challenges, however, including having insufficient funding for key areas of its operations; for example, there is no incinerator, which significantly impacts the efforts of the dedicated staff to manage biological waste in accordance with appropriate biosafety and biosecurity guidelines.
“The SAFE survey and site inspection have helped highlight gaps in our biosafety, biosecurity and sanitation SOPs at Lok Kawi that we are working to address. It has helped Sabah Wildlife Department to better identify risk factors for the transmission of zoonotic diseases in wildlife facilities across the state, allowing us to better respond to gaps in biosafety at these facilities, in line with a One Health approach,” said Dr. Rosa Sipangkui, Veterinary Officer at Sabah Wildlife Department.
Scientists, wildlife experts and public health specialists on the project’s scientific advisory committee will analyse the data collected during the field visits. Their insights, which will be presented in a report to national governments, will help inform discussions on national mitigation strategies and identify areas for policy and legislative improvement.
The SAFE project, implemented by the UNODC Environment Team in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), benefits from the financial support of the European Union (EU).
