Two Wildlife Hunters on the Slopes of Mount Arjuno Caught
Two wildlife hunters in the protected forest on the slopes of Mount Arjuno were caught by joint officers of PROFAUNA Indonesia, East Java Center for Natural Resources Conservation (BKSDA), Jabalnusra Law Enforcement, Malang Forestry Agency and the Regional Conservation Section (SKW VI) Probolinggo, on Sunday (13/9/2020) afternoon.
The joint officers patrolled for the second time in Protected Forest of 8A Block located in Bon Cembo, Karangan Sub-District Forest Agency, Singosari, Malang. At around 15:20 PM local time, the officers encountered two people carrying air rifles wandering the protected forest.
The joint officers immediately split up and headed for two people who were strongly suspected of doing wild animal hunting. In the following one hour, the officers managed to caught the two hunters.
"The officers secured a quail of Javan hill-partridge (Arborophila javanica) which was shot to dead and two 4.5 caliber rifles," explained Rosek Nursahid, PROFAUNA co-founder.
Rosek added that the forest and the area around Mount Arjuno are indeed prone to poaching. Almost every weekend there are always hunters wandering these areas to hunt wild animals such as monkeys, deer, birds, langurs and others.
"Even though singing birds are unprotected species, hunters must have permit to hunt the birds or other wild animals in the forest areas. Referring to Law Number 41 of 1999 concerning forestry, anyone who catches/ hunts/ takes wildlife from forest areas without a permit is an act of law violation, " explained this environmental activist.
Rosek described further, PROFAUNA urged the full law enforcement on the cases of wildlife hunting in protected forests. The goal is to have a deterrent effect on the hunters.
"We (PROFAUNA) also want the community to participate in the law enforcement. If at any time anyone sees wildlife hunting activities, they should immediately report it to the officer," said Rosek.
According to him, law enforcement to protect the nature really needs community participation to tackle the increasingly rampant hunting of wild animals.
"Moreover, it is clear that the Kapolri regulation has prohibited the use of firearms or air rifles for illegal hunting of wildlife," he said.
Meanwhile, Malang Forest Police Coordinator, Heru Restyo confirmed that the perpetrators would be handed over to the police for further law enforcement. He added, that the results of the legal examination, the two hunters were Nt and Sb, residents of Karangploso District, Malang Regency.
"Currently the two perpetrators have been apprehended at the Karangan Subdistrict Forestry Agency Singosari Office. We will hand over the case to Malang Police investigators," Heru explained.
Other than law enforcement like this, the official mentioned that his office had raise public awareness and installed warning boards in the protected forest areas.
"We hope that people stop hunting. Otherwise, they will definitely face the law," he said.
This article was published on Kumparan.com (in bahasa Indonesia)