Jakarta, August 27 - Environmental activists in Indonesia were struck again with tragic incident on the death of Shela, a female Sumatran tiger in her cage inside Taman Rimba zoo, Jambi, last Saturday, August 22nd. According to the Jambi police chief Adjunct Commissioner Posma Lubis, as quoted in Antara.com,  the poachers killed the tiger and took away its body at around 3 am leaving the animal`s intestines. Jambi police department is still investigating the case and five people had been questioned as witnesses regarding this brutal action.

Sarah Christie from Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZL), a conservation organization working in Jambi area, stated in its press release  August 27 that this tragic incident highlights the need for improved law enforcement at a local level.  It is shocking that this tiger, who has contributed to tiger conservation via her role in training young Indonesian wildlife biologists and vets, should fuel the trade in wildlife parts which threatens her kind with extinction.

WWF’s expert, Chairul Saleh, believes that this case indicates the demands of tiger’s body parts are still high. Indonesia has issued Act Number 5 /1990, which sentence Sumatran tiger poacher up to five years imprisonment or a fine of Rp 100 million; unfortunately there are still a lot to do to enforce it. ”WWF supports Jambi local government and police department to immediately find the perpetrators and bring them before the court,” he said.

WWF has been working to support government at various levels to cut the trade chains and protect areas of tiger habitats from being threatened by deforestation and illegal poaching. In Sumatra’s Riau province, WWF supports the investigation on the killings of three Sumatran tiger in Tembilahan, last February. Two defendants are now on trial process  in Tembilahan District Court, Indragiri Hilir District, Riau.  

Since 2000, WWF has been operating Tiger Patrol Units in Riau, Sumatra. Currently, two patrols with eight people protect critically endangered Sumatran tigers from poaching and illegal trade. They patrols key habitats and collects data on illegal trade by identifying shops that sell tiger parts, investigating trade routes and identifying the players in this deadly “game”. The data are shared with local authorities who are urged to pursue the identified poachers and traders. WWF’s Tiger Patrol Unit operation between July 2008 to July 2009 in Tesso Nilo National Park and Rimbang Baling National Park, Riau Province has confiscated 36 tiger snares, some of them are set up deliberately by poachers. (dr)