Indonesian
police have arrested four men suspected of poaching in a sting operation. The
men had allegedly killed the rare species for its skin, bones and teeth.
Deutsche Welle, 11 Aug 2015
Police say
three men used a deer trap to capture a four-year-old male Sumatran tiger, one
of the most endangered species and known for its heavy black stripes on their
orange coats.
But when
they offered the skin and bones for sale for about 6,700 euro ($7,400 dollars),
they didn't realize their buyers were undercover police.
Villagers
in Jambe Rambung village in Aceh province had tipped off law enforcement to the
poachers, police say, and the three poachers and a fourth man acting as a
broker were arrested on the spot and confiscated the tiger's hide and bones.
Lt. Col.
Mirwazi told the AP news agency late Monday that the four could be charged with
violating a 1999 law on protection of natural resources and face up to five
years in prison.
Highly
prized on black market
One of the
suspects had admitted to killing another Sumatran tiger and selling its body
parts about three years ago, the officials said. The animals are highly prized
as their body parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine and fetch high
prices on the black market.
WWF says
there are less than 400 wild Sumatran tigers left, down from 1,000 in the
1970s. Their numbers have fallen due to destruction of rainforest habitat to
make palm oil as well as pulp and paper plantations.
Poaching
continues to plague tiger populations worldwide. In Bangladesh police shot and killed six suspected poachers last week after they said the poachers had
ambushed a patrol.
jar/gsw (AP, AFP)
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