GUA MUSANG: The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) has allocated about RM50,000 to install a 1.6 kilometre-long community elephant electric fence system (SPEGKOM) at Subong Estate to curb wild animal intrusions at the Kesedar Sungai Terah Land Rehabilitation Scheme (RPT), here.
Kelantan Perhilitan director Mohamad Hafid Rohani said the Subong SPEGKOM installation was the first community project of its kind in Kelantan.
He said the installation of the fence would benefit more than 3,500 residents living in the surrounding villages of Kampung Subong, Kampung Sungai Terah, Kampung Awek, and Kampung Kundur.
According to Mohamad Hafid, the installation began on April 21 and involved both village residents and estate personnel.
“The SPEGKOM is being installed in areas with active complaints of wild animal intrusions, and we found that wild elephants frequently roam around the Kesedar Sungai Terah RPT area,” he said when contacted today.
Mohamad Hafid said seven wild elephants have been captured and relocated from the area from 2021 to 2024.
Meanwhile, RPT Sungai Terah Federal Village Development and Security Committee (JPKKP) chairman Wan Mohd Suhanis Wan Sulaiman said he hoped the electric fence would finally resolve the predicament faced by the residents over the past four years.
He said the animals had not only trespassed into plantations and farms, but also damaged the villagers’ crops.
“We have suffered heavy losses due to this ongoing problem that has persisted since 2021,” he said.
Meanwhile, Galas assemblyman Mohd Syahbuddin Hashim thanked Perhilitan for allocating funds to help resolve the human-wildlife conflict.
