Monday June 13, 2005 - KOTA KINABALU: Oil palm farmers whose crops havebeen destroyed by displaced Borneo pygmy elephants should stop their"revenge killings".

They are the prime suspects for the brutal killings of several suchelephants in the state.

The right thing to do is to allow the Wildlife Department to handle theelephants, said Sarawak Assistant Tourism, Culture and EnvironmentMinister Datuk Karim Bujang.

"Don’t take things into your own hand by killing the elephants. When yousee them (the pygmy elephants), call the Wildlife Department so that theanimals can be rescued and relocated to other areas where they will notpose problems," he said.

He said that the Borneo elephants must be conserved and it was importantthat farmers understand this, adding that it was only three years ago thatthe elephants were found to be a sub-species of the Asian elephants.

Karim said the co-operation of farmers and villagers was necessary until adecision was made on what to do with some 200 displaced elephants.

Responding to the killings of five pygmy elephants in the state over thelast eight months, he said the state government would not hesitate to actagainst the culprits, adding that investigations were underway.

The latest elephant slaying occurred on Wednesday, with a decapitated headof a pygmy found floating on Sungai Kinabatangan.

The Sarawak government is thinking of relocating the elephants intowildlife forest reserves or via exchange programmes with foreign zoos.

Speaking up for the affected farmers, honorary wildlife ranger DatukWilfred Lingham suggested that the state government set up a fund to paycompensation to them.

He said the government should consider the plight of smallholders whoselife savings were wiped out when their crops were destroyed almostovernight by the elephants.