Lampung deer near extinction
Lampung deer near extinction
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Sambar deer (cervus unicolor), a protected rare species in
the Way Kambas National Park in East Lampung, is under threat of
extinction due to rampant poaching that has allegedly involved
not only hunters but also security personnel.
Environmental activists say it would be very difficult for the
local administration in Lampung and the Natural Resources
Conservation Agency (BKSDA) to save the rare species because of
the rampant poaching.
Ali Nurdin, a senior staff of the Rhino Protection Unit (RPU),
said the national park was home to a number of rare species such
as Sambar deer, rhinoceroses, Sumatran tigers and elephants but
the population had dropped drastically because of poaching,
illegal logging and conversion of forest land into farmland and
plantations.
"It was very easy to find the Sambar in the national park last
year but now it is very difficult because a bigger part of its
population has been intensively hunted," he said in a discussion
on the rare species here on Friday.
He said that the Sambar deer could be found only in a certain
part inside the national park that had not been reached by
poachers.
"The population of the protected species will be extinct in a
short time unless poaching is controlled," he said.
Ali said his office together with the special forestry police
unit carried out an inquiry in the 125,000-hectare park and found
that poaching involved not only the local people but also police
and military personnel.
"Most poachers who have been detained by the special forestry
police unit are police and military personnel and businessmen
whose hobby is hunting," he said.
He asserted that the poachers had committed several violations
as they poached in protected forests and used their guns for
poaching, instead of for security and defense purposes.
"We want servicemen and policemen who are found guilty of
poaching not only to be dismissed from the service but also
punished as a lesson to the public," he said.
He added many local people enter the national park not only to
farm or plant coffee trees but also to hunt for food.
As Idul Fitri celebrations near, poaching has become a
seasonable job because poachers can sell deer meat for up to Rp
15,000 per kilogram.
Watoni Noerdin, a senior staff member of the Legal Aid
Institute (LBH) in the city, called on the forestry authorities
to impose the law impartially.
"The law must be imposed against all those caught red-handed
to hunt without a permit from the relevant authorities. Under the
reform era, all sides, including the police and military, are
equal in the face of the law," he said.