SNIFFER DOG MANNY PASSES AWAY
Labrador Was Part of World’s First Anti-Piracy K-9 Unit Set up in Malaysia
Hong Kong / Kuala Lumpur – Manny, the Labrador who was part of a sniffer dog duo belonging to the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) passed away on Saturday, May 31 approximately 2p.m. local time. Manny was donated to the MDTCA’s anti-piracy canine (K-9) unit, along with another Labrador Paddy, by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in March this year.
Four MDTCA officers from the K-9 unit were traveling with the dogs at the time. The dogs were in Johor for training and were on the way back to Kuala Lumpur.
Manny’s body has been sent to University Putra Malaysia for post-mortem.
“We are deeply saddened by the news of Manny’s passing,” said Mike Ellis, President and Managing Director, Asia-Pacific for the MPA. “We’re awaiting news from the MDTCA for the cause of death, which should be clear once the post-mortem results come through.”
The Malaysian Government established the world’s first anti-piracy K-9 unit in February, prompted by the success of Lucky and Flo, the first ever sniffer dogs trained to detect optical discs. The unit has been set up within the Enforcement Division at the MDTCA, and comprised two trained Labrador sniffer dogs Paddy and Manny from Ireland courtesy of the MPA.
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Piracy in Asia
A comprehensive study aimed at producing a more accurate picture of the impact that piracy has on the film industry including, for the first time, losses due to internet piracy, recently calculated that the MPA studios lost US$6.1 billion to worldwide piracy in 2005. About US$2.4 billion was lost to bootlegging*, US$1.4 billion to illegal copying* and US$2.3 billion to Internet piracy. Of the US$6.1 billion in lost revenue to the studios, approximate US$1.2 billion came from piracy across the Asia-Pacific region, while piracy in the U.S. accounted for US$1.3 billion.
In 2007, the MPA’s operations in the Asia-Pacific region investigated more than 36,200 cases of piracy and assisted law enforcement officials in conducting nearly 13,000 raids. These activities resulted in the seizure of more than 31 million illegal optical discs, 40 factory optical disc production lines and 6,400 optical disc burners, as well as the initiation of more than 10,000 legal actions.
*Bootlegging: Obtaining movies by either purchasing an illegally copied VHS/DVD/VCD or acquiring hard copies of bootleg movies. *Illegal copying: Making illegal copies for self or receiving illegal copies from friends of a legitimate VHS/DVD/VCD. *Internet piracy: Obtaining movies by either downloading them from the Internet without paying or acquiring hard copies of illegally downloaded movies from friends or family. About the MPA: The Motion Picture Association and Motion Picture Association - International (MPA) represent the interests of major motion picture companies in the global marketplace. On behalf of its member companies, the MPA conducts investigations around the world, assists with the criminal and civil litigation generated by such cases, and conducts education outreach programs to teach movie fans around the world about the harmful effects of piracy. The MPA directs its worldwide anti-piracy operations from its headquarters based in Los Angeles, California and has regional offices located in Brussels (Europe, Middle East and Africa), São Paulo (Latin America), Montreal (Canada) and Singapore (Asia-Pacific). The MPA’s anti-piracy activities have helped to transform entire markets from pirate to legitimate, benefiting video distributors, retailers, and foreign and local filmmakers alike. The MPA member companies include: Buena Vista International, Inc.; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Releasing International Corporation; Twentieth Century Fox International Corporation; Universal International Films, Inc.; and Warner Bros. Pictures International, a division of Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. For more information about the MPA, please visit www.mpa-i.org. |
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For more information, contact:
Mike Ellis
MPA Asia-Pacific
65-6253-1033
Margaret Fu
MPA Asia-Pacific
852-2785-8677
Nor Hayati Yahaya
MPA Malaysia
60-3-2092-4015