OFFICIALS and conservationists said snares have been posing a great menace to wildlife survival in Cambodia, urging greater participation from locals to stop snaring and poaching in protected areas.
Ministry of Environment’s secretary of state and spokesman Neth Pheaktra said on Friday that the dire situation of biodiversity decline was not unique to Cambodia but the global wildlife population, both terrestrial and aquatic, had fallen sharply by an average of 68% over the last 50 years.
“Illegal hunting from the past to the present, coupled with the large number of snares set in the natural forest, fuelled by the illegal wildlife trade, constitute some of the main factors threatening Cambodia’s wildlife,” he said at a Zero-Snaring Campaign event.
“Snares are indiscriminate killers and pose a great menace to wildlife survival.”
He said it was time for all parties to work together to take urgent and innovative conservation measures to help prevent these major threats, especially the snaring.
He added that as conservation improved, habitats, water sources and forages had been protected, with some wildlife species increasing steadily, some remaining stable and others dramatically declining, especially the ground-dwelling ungulate species. — Xinhua
