South Sumatra BKSDA Destroys 18 Preserved Protected Animals, There Are Leopards, Bears And Deer Heads

PALEMBANG - The South Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA Sumsel) destroyed by burning 18 protected animals that were preserved (opsetan).

Head of the South Sumatra BKSDA Ujang Wisnu Barata at the culling site said the 18 preserved animals were the result of confiscation operations and voluntary handovers from the people in South Sumatra in the period from 2016 to 2021.

Each of the preserved animals consisted of four Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae), one Javan leopard/beetle (Panthera pardus melas), seven heads of Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor).

Then, there were four Sun Bears (Helarctos malayanus), one Sumatran Forest Goat Head (Capricornis sumatraensis), and one Clouded Tiger (Neofelis nebulosa).

"A total of 15 opsetans were obtained from voluntary submissions from residents in Palembang, Lubuk Linggau, Lahat, OKI and the South Sumatra Ministry of Environment and Forestry Security and Law Enforcement Center, and three of the opsetan came from residents in Palembang through investigations that were already Inkrah," he said, quoted by Antara, Friday, March 18.

According to Ujang, the BKSDA hopes that through the extermination it can educate the public not to own, store or trade protected animals that are preserved because they are prohibited and can be subject to imprisonment and a fine of hundreds of millions of rupiah.

These rules refer to Law (UU) number 5 of 1990 concerning the conservation of Biological Natural Resources and their Ecosystems, PP number 7 of 1999 concerning the preservation of plant and animal species, and Government Regulations (PP) number 8 concerning the use of wild plant and animal species.

“Opsetan (preserved protected animals) should not be used outside the interests of education, demonstration and research and scientific development. So we hope that anyone who still has it, or knows of any storage, to immediately hand it over to the BKSDA/police apparatus," he said.

Meanwhile, the Director of Conservation of Biodiversity, Species, and Genetics (KKHSG) of the Directorate General of KSDAE Indra Expoitasia said that most of South Sumatra's area is still a tropical rain forest which of course has a diversity of protected animals.

"So it takes a joint commitment to protect it because it is very vulnerable from the threat of illegal hunting crimes," he said.

According to him, the safeguard in question is not only limited to passive supervision in the field such as patrols, but also needs to monitor downstream activities, namely buying and selling protected animals online.

"Because of the many cases found, the activity of buying and selling protected animals, whether alive or preserved, has penetrated online, and has touched the global market. Maybe that should also be considered in the future so that the disclosure of the case can reach the dealer and can be stopped," he said.