| Illegal tiger traders arrested in Indonesia |
| Written by AP | |
| Wednesday, 03 September 2008 | |
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JAKARTA, Indonesia - Illegal tiger traders are feeling the heat in Indonesia.
Four people were arrested last week for selling parts of the giant cats — from bones and skins to teeth, said Noviar Andayani, an official with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which jointly carried out the raid with local authorities. That brought the number of busts in the last three months to 10, she said, equal the total amount for the previous three years. The Sumatran tiger, or Panthera tigris sumatrae, is the world's most critically endangered tiger subspecies. Wildlife officials estimate fewer than 400 remain in the wild, compared to around 1,000 in the 1970s. The tigers' diminishing population is largely blamed on poaching and the destruction of their forest habitat for palm oil and wood pulp plantations. The latest raid was carried out Aug. 26 in Pancur Batu, a region near the Sumatran city of Medan, she said, calling the arrests part of stepped up efforts by authorities to crack down on the trade. "We want to show people we are really serious," said Andayani, adding that the suspects faced up to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to nearly $11,000. |