South Sumatra BKSDA Seizes Tigers Preserved

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PALEMBANG - The Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of South Sumatra has confiscated a protected adult Sumatran tiger that has been preserved by the community.

South Sumatra BKSDA Forestry Police Section Head M Andriansyah said the preserved adult Sumatran tiger was more than two meters long.

Officers in a sympathetic operation on Thursday, November 18, confiscated the tiger from a resident in Kalidoni District, Palembang City.

After going through the approach and socialization, the tigers worth hundreds of millions of rupiah were handed over voluntarily by the residents to the officers.

"It is not known for sure but on the black market it can be sold for hundreds of millions of rupiah. Through the approach we developed, it was finally handed over voluntarily by the residents," he said, quoted by Antara, Monday, November 22.

According to him, apart from the Sumatran tiger, his party confiscated three other protected animals in the form of two heads of forest deer with a diameter of about 1 meter from a resident of Sukabangun District and one sun bear cub from a resident of Sukarame District.

"All of the residents of Palembang City, apart from the preserved ones, we also confiscated two yellow-crested old parrots and a Ternate parrot from residents in Plaju District alive," he said.

The confiscated preserved animals, he continued, were temporarily stored in the BKSDA breeding warehouse in Palembang while coordinating with the Zoological Museum in Medan, North Sumatra.

“If the zoological museum is willing to let these preserved animals become their collections, we will send them. But if not, it will be destroyed by burning," he said.

During the past three months, BKSDA, he said, had confiscated six preserved animals, two of which were pangolins and a book turtle.

With the massive confiscation, he said, it is hoped that the public will understand that their hobby of collecting preserved animals is prohibited.

As regulated in Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation which states that it is prohibited to collect or own protected animals in a dead or dead state, they are preserved.

Violation of the provisions of this article is subject to imprisonment for five years and a fine of Rp. 100 million.

"For those who still keep protected animals that are preserved, please return them to us," he said.