Balinese Hindus Hold Prayer at Tapir Slaughter Site in Mesuji

A number of Balinese Hindus in the Register 45 area, Mesuji Regency, Lampung, held a communal prayer at the site of a tapir slaughter that had previously shocked the public. Residents performed the prayer as an expression of regret and an apology for the death of the protected animal. The moment of communal prayer was recorded in a 3-minute, 11-second video uploaded to the Facebook account of Made Kastiawan on Tuesday (7/7). In the video, Made and dozens of residents are seen praying at the tapir slaughter site, which was still cordoned off with police line. Made stated that the communal prayer was held as a form of apology to God for the tapir slaughter incident carried out by several residents some time ago. “We apologise to God for the mistakes made by our brothers and sisters, which resulted in the loss of this rare tapir,” said Made, quoted from his post. According to him, the activity also served as an educational tool for the community to better understand the importance of protecting wild animals and to cease hunting or killing legally protected species. “We want the community to better understand how to treat rare, protected animals. Let there be no more acts that reduce their population and lead to criminal charges,” he said.