TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Government to allow Sumatran tiger as pet
The government unveiled Wednesday plans to allow the public to acquire Sumatran tigers as pets in an effort to prevent the critically endangered species from extinction
Change Size
T
he government unveiled Wednesday plans to allow the public to acquire Sumatran tigers as pets in an effort to prevent the critically endangered species from extinction.
Director general for forest protection and nature conservation at the Forestry Ministry Darori said under the plan people could purchase a pair of tigers by paying a Rp 1 billion (US$108,342) deposit and annual tax to the government.
“We are discussing the regulation,” he said at Sumatran tiger conservation workshop.
He said the ministry required owners, to possess at least 5,000 square-meters of land.
Darori said tigers would be taken from a breeding center in Lampung, which has two pairs of tigers.
He said at least three members of the public had submitted proposal letters to the ministry.
He admitted activists protested the plan, fearing it would lead to Sumatran tigers’ extinction.
“But we need to take action to cut the illegal trade of tigers,” Darori said.
Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said that he planned to increase the population of the endangered species by 3 percent over the next five years.
Hasan also appointed Putri Indonesia Qori Sandioriva as tiger ambassador to promote its protection.
The ministry predicts there are currently only 500 tigers left spread over 18 areas in Sumatra. About 400 tigers live in Leuser National Park.
Previously there were Javanese and Balinese tigers in Indonesia. They are now extinct.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature named the Sumatran tiger as critically endangered, while the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora placed it in Appendix I, prohibiting its trade.
HarimauKita Forum director Hariyo Wibisono said the government should protect tigers in their natural habitat.
“Since 2007, we have not see progress made in protecting tigers,” he said.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono launched a plan of action to protect Sumatran tigers at the sidelines of the climate change conference in Bali, 2007.
Hariyo said high numbers of illegal hunting and activity working against conservation remained serious threats for Sumatran tigers.
Currently, the WWF Indonesia is preparing to launch a save-the-tiger campaign on 14 Feb. 2010, the start of the Chinese year of the tiger.
Asian forestry ministers are set to conduct a meeting on tigers in Thailand on Jan. 27 to 30.
