By Dyah Eka Rini

Jakarta (10/8) - Good news from West Sumatra, Indonesia. Suspect of tiger smuggling case caught in Payakumbuh, West Sumatra, Indonesia in February 2011, has been undergoing third trial which agenda is examination of defendant. WWF hopes that the board of judges will drop maximum sentence to give deterrent effect for all illegal tiger poachers and traders.

The first and second trials have been done on 12 July with agenda was examination of witnesses/official witnesses from West Sumatra Nature Conservation Agency (BKSDA) and 18 July 2011 with agenda was Nature Conservation Agency expert hearing.

Last February, a suspect of tiger smuggler was caught in the act in West Sumatra by a team consisting Riau dan West Sumatra’s Nature Conservation Agencies, after a deep investigation supported by WWF-Indonesia Tiger Protection Unit (TPU). From the raid, Nature Conservation Agency’s officials confiscated a 170 cm skin of male adult tiger believed was poisoned near Rimbang Baling game reserve, Kampar District, Riau Province.
 

The suspect was caught in his home in Payakumbuh after being followed by the investigator from Balung area. At first, the suspect denied the fact that he kept the tiger skin’s but one of Tiger Protection Unit member detected the smell of chemical liquid often used for tiger skin preservation. The skin was also found inside his house, although the team could not find tiger bones that usually sold as traditional medicine.
 
WWF strongly urges law enforcment agencies in West Sumatra to take this case seriously and to seek the maximum penalty to deter this poacher and others. Sumatran tigers are critically endangered and poaching is one of the top threats to their survival. WWF Indonesia Tiger Protection Unit will monitor the trials and gives regular updates on this case.

In the beginning of this year, Head of Riau Nature Conservation Agency, Kurnia Rauf stated that As a follow up to the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry commitment in Russia, we’re also committed to reducing the threat to the Sumatran tiger population by strengthening law enforcement and stopping Sumatran tiger poaching and illegal trading. Besides, the Ministry of Forestry is also strengthening its collaboration with partners on the protection of Sumatran tiger population in its natural habitat to increase population of Sumatran tiger by 3 per cent per year as mandated in the National Strategic Plan of Sumatran Tiger Conservation 2007-2017.