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.