PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA: The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has yet to decide on whether to immediately ban the issuance of hunting licences of the internationally-threatened sambar deer.

Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said he would be briefed by the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director-general to enable him to act on the matter.

"Let me get a proper briefing from the Perhilitan director-general next week on the status of this species and the details on the issuance of hunting licences.

"It is only fair that I hear his views before making any decision," he said yesterday.

The minister said he had received a letter from a member of the public who was concerned over the matter.

It is understood the urgency of the matter is due to the open season on deer hunting in the peninsula this month.

Hunting of game species like sambar deer, barking deer, wild boar and bearded pigs are regulated through a licensing system.

However, hunting of deer is restricted to a limited number of months in a year with the occasional moratorium.

The sambar deer (Cervus unicolor) was included as a threatened species under the 2008 Red List released last month .

The global checklist for flora and fauna had previously never considered sambar deer as being even near-threatened.

The latest listing has shocked local conservationists who believe that an immediate halt to hunting is needed to reassess the health of the country's biological diversity.

The National Tiger Action Plan for Malaysia has recommended a moratorium on the issuance of hunting licences for the sambar deer and barking deer to provide better legal protection for these species, which are prey for the endangered tiger.