Owls vs swiftlet farms – the plight of our ecosystem

At a recent workshop, jointly-organized by IRDA and MNS Johor Branch on Migratory Birds, Vincent Chow, the Johor Branch Chairman, Malaysian Nature Society took the opportunity to highlight the plight of the owls within the swiftlet industry.

Vincent pointed out that at an average 120 owls were killed in a swiftlet farm monthly and there are more than 5,000 swiftlet farms in Malaysia.

Unchecked, the owl population will go extinct within 10 years time.

He further stressed that 50% of these farms are having rat problems because the owls are natural predators of rats.

The oil palm industry will be affected too since the owls are needed to get rid of rats in the plantation.

Vincent emphasized that we cannot break the cycle of nature because it destroys a balanced ecosystem.