WWF demands official investigation into two elephants` deaths

Antara 24 Sep 08;

Banda Aceh, (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian chapter of WWF (World Wildlife Fund) is asking Indonesian authorities to investigate the death of two Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) in Southeast Aceh district, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) province, a spokesman said.

"This is important. To prevent a negative interpretation of what happened, the authorities should investigate the death of the two Sumatran elephants so that the cause of their death is clearly established," WWF Indonesia Deputy Team Leader Dede Suhendra said here Tuesday.

An official investigation would effectively prevent the public from having misconceptions about wildlife conservation in Indonesia, he said.

If the investigation showed the death of the protected animals was the result of a deliberate act, the authorities should enforce the law against those responsible, Suhendra said.

He said the case which happened in Southeastern Aceh could become a lesson to everybody on how to solve conflicts between animals and humans. "It is time to implement the conflict mitigation protocol in Aceh," he said.

"The mitigation conflict protocol is a reference for solving conflicts between animals and human beings. The program has been applied for a long time and it has also become the policy of the Forestry Ministry," he said.

Meanwhile, Irsadi Aristora, executive director of NAD province`s Save Nature`s Flora and Fauna (Silfa), said the Natural Resources Conservation Service (BKSDA) should be responsible for the two elephants` death in the Mount Leuser National Park (TNGL).

He said the BKSDA had been conducting a wild elephant catching operation since September 12, 2008. In the operation, elephant tamer teams succeeded in capturing two elephants which were later known to have died on September 14 and 20, 2008.

Aristora said the operation was a violation of the law because no veterinarians had been involved in it. The elephants were believed to have died from drug overdoses and therefore, the police must investigate the case thoroughly, he said.(*)