Rangers of Meru Betiri National Park Arrested Wildlife Poachers

A joint team of Pesanggaran police department and the rangers of Meru Betiri National Park arrested 4 poachers yesterday (10 December 2014) at 3 a.m. in the forest of Sarongan village, Pesanggaran district, Banyuwangi, East Java  (Jawa Pos, 11 December 2014).

According to the newspaper, the poachers are now being taken in for questioning at Pesanggaran police station. They are Ali Mustofa (37), Ahmad Toyib (33), Dwi Setiawan (27), and Ahmad Khoirul (24). The men are residents of Krajan, Sarongan village.

The poachers were caught red-handed while carrying their prey: a wild boar and two mouse deer. The officeres also confiscated two 5.5 mm air riffles, three blades, and three flashlights. "The boar and mouse deer were already dead when we seized them," said Wawan, the head of Section 1 Meru Betiri National Park, to Jawa Pos.

Protection of Forest & Fauna (PROFAUNA) Indonesia appreciates this achievement. Swasti Prawidya Mukti, PROFAUNA's campaign officer, stated "Actually the story of illegal poaching in Meru Betiri National Park is not a new stuff for us. PROFAUNA has seen this indication for quite a long time. Therefore, we are very pleased about this seizure. Good job for the officers!"

PROFAUNA hopes that the poachers will be legally proceed, because they have violated the Law no. 5 of 1990 concerning the Conservation of Living Natural Resources and Its Ecosystem. "Anybody who does illegal poaching within national park areas is liable to 5 years of prison and IDR 100 million fines," Swasti added.