Kota kinabalu: Under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), the Sabah Wildlife Department (JHL) will focus on consultation, training, and providing suitable equipment for crocodile management in densely populated and high-risk areas. Its director, Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar, stated that enforcement agencies with firearms licences have been authorized to carry out crocodile population control in selected locations, based on assessed needs and threat levels in each district.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the department will also issue hunting licences and roll out public awareness campaigns on safety measures to prevent crocodile attacks. Training will be provided for local communities in high-risk areas to implement crocodile mitigation measures, focusing on effective monitoring methods. Mohd Soffian emphasized the importance of addressing community concerns about crocodile sightings in populated areas to reduce conflicts between humans and wildlife.
The Sabah JHL issues 25 commercial crocodile hunting licences annually, aligning with efforts to ensure controlled hunting and farming based on conservation and sustainable wildlife management principles. Despite this, public response to commercial hunting licences remains low due to limited domestic demand for crocodile products.
Crocodile hunting is allowed in Sabah under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, with strict controls on licence and farming permit issuance. Strict measures are necessary as the saltwater crocodile is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which limits international trade to registered farms only.
Research conducted between 2020 and 2023 for non-detrimental findings (NDF) estimated Sabah’s crocodile population at approximately 2,500, covering 10 major rivers in the region. Sabah JHL recorded 11 deaths and two injuries due to crocodile attacks this year, highlighting the ongoing risk in high-risk areas such as Sungai Taman Kenari in Sandakan, where a fatal attack occurred on July 15.