Indonesia eyes pet market for endangered tigers

Arlina Arshad Yahoo News 21 Jan 10;

JAKARTA (AFP) – The Indonesian government has hatched a plan to save Sumatran tigers from extinction by allowing people to adopt captive-born animals as pets for 100,000 dollars a pair, officials said.

The forestry ministry said the plan could be put into practice as early as this year despite reservations from environmentalists, who say the focus should be on protecting habitats for the remaining 200 tigers in the wild.

"We're not selling or renting tigers. We're only authorising people to look after them," forestry ministry conservation chief Darori told AFP.

"These people will have to follow certain conditions. The tigers will still belong to the government."

He said interested owners would have to "deposit" a billion rupiah (108,000 dollars) for a pair of tigers, which he called a "guarantee towards conservation".

The minimum area required to keep a pair would be around 60 square metres (646 square feet), although something the size of three football fields would be better, ministry officials said.

The animals' health would be monitored by government experts and mistreatment would be punished by fines or jail terms.

"Let's think of the tigers' new homes as mini-zoos," Darori said.

Another ministry official, Didi Wuryanto, dismissed fears the scheme could put a price on the heads of the few remaining wild tigers, which are nearing extinction due to habitat loss on their native Sumatra island.

Much of the jungle which the tigers call home has been destroyed by rampant illegal logging overseen by the forestry ministry, forcing the animals into lethal competition with villagers.

"The chances of people trapping Sumatran tigers alive in the wild and selling them are very low because of the high risk of getting caught and people finding out about it," Wuryanto said.

"Also, it's very hard to look after tigers trapped in the wild. They might refuse to eat and die."

He said there were about 30 captive-born tigers in Indonesia.

"This idea of selling the tigers to the public came about after several wealthy businessmen proposed buying them," Wuryanto said.

"They don't just want to own horses. They want to be acknowledged as special people with prestige, so they want to keep tigers.

"But we're not in it for the money... We want to save the tigers."

Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaigner Bustar Maitar said the government might not like to admit its plan amounted to selling critically endangered tigers as pets, but that was what would happen.

"Whatever the term used, this is the same as selling tigers. The government doesn't care about tigers, only about people with money," he said.

"This isn't the solution to save tigers. The correct solution is to save the forests first."

Activists also said the forestry ministry, seen as one of the most corrupt organs of the Indonesian government, could not be trusted to administer a tiger trade.

"Who's going to manage this money? How do we know the money will go towards animal conservation?" asked Harito Wibisono of tiger conservation society Harimau Kita Forum.

Indonesia sells tigers to the rich
The Indonesian government has announced plans to sell tigers as pets for £67,000 a pair in what it claims is a move to protect the critically endangered species.
Barney Henderson, The Telegraph 21 Jan 10;

However, environmental groups have criticised the scheme as a money-making scam that will do nothing to save tigers, which face an increased risk from poachers on the eve of the Chinese Year of the Tiger.

Three people have already applied to follow in the footsteps of Michael Jackson and Mike Tyson and keep a tiger as a pet.

The criteria for taking ownership of 30 available tigers is having a spare billion rupiah (£67,000) and a minimum of 5 sq kilometre of land on which to keep the animals.

The government said the tigers would be constantly monitored in their new homes and any mistreatment would be punished by fines or jail.

"This idea of selling the tigers to the public came about after several wealthy businessmen proposed buying them," said Didi Wuryanto, a forestry ministry official.

"They don't just want to own horses. They want to be acknowledged as special people with prestige, so they want to keep tigers."

Environmentalists warned selling off tigers as pets would encourage tiger poachers. Tiger poaching is on the rise across Asia ahead of Feb 14, the start of the Chinese Year of the Tiger.

"It is an irresponsible move by the Indonesian government," said Bustar Maitar, a Greenpeace forest campaigner.

"Selling tigers is not the solution. The government must protect the animal's habitat and stop palm oil plantations taking over. This move will just encourage poaching among locals at a time when poaching is on the rise because of the Year of the Tiger."

There are just 3,200 tigers remaining in the wild across Asia, according to the World Wildlife Fund, and they are nearing extinction due to habitat loss.

Indonesia Allows Public To Keep Sumatran Tiger As Pet
Bernama 21 Jan 10;

JAKARTA, Jan 21 (Bernama) -- Indonesian government unveiled a plan to allow public to acquire Sumatran tigers as pets in an effort to prevent the critically endangered species from extinction, China's Xinhua news agency reported, citing a local daily as saying on Thursday.

The Director General for Forest Protection and Nature Conservation at the Forestry Ministry Darori said that under the plan, people could purchase a pair of tigers by paying one billion rupiah (about US$100 million) deposit and annual tax to the government.

"We are discussing the regulation," he said at Sumatran tiger conservation workshop.

He said that the ministry required owners to possess at least 5,000 square-meters of land.

Darori said that tigers would be taken from a breeding center in Lampung which has two pairs of tigers.

Darori admitted that activists protested the plan, fearing it would lead to Sumatra tiger's extinction.

"But we need to take action to cut the illegal trade of tigers, " said Darori.

Protection of Sumatran tigers is one of the government's priorities in environmental field.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had launched a plan of action to protect Sumatran tigers on the sideline of the climate change conference in Bali, 2007.

-- BERNAMA

Indonesia's tiger adoption plan angers greens
Sunanda Creagh, Reuters 22 Jan 10;

JAKARTA (Reuters Life!) - An Indonesian government proposal offering rare Sumatran tigers up for adoption by wealthy citizens has drawn scorn from environmental activists, who say it's the wrong approach to conservation.

There are only 400 Sumatran tigers left in Indonesia, where deforestation has destroyed much of their native habitat and they are hunted for traditional medicines and illegal menageries.

Tiger "adoption" -- where a pair can be rented out as pets in exchange for a 1 billion rupiah ($107,100) deposit -- could help curb illegal hunting and trade, a Forestry Ministry official said on Friday.

"There are many orders from rich people who want them, who feel if they own a tiger they are a big shot. We have to take concrete steps to protect these animals," said Darori, the ministry's Director General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation.

The tiger "renters" must allow visits at three-monthly intervals by a team of vets, animal welfare officers and ministerial staff.

The animals will come from those already kept in captivity, and must be given cages with minimum dimensions of five meters high, six meters wide and 10 meters (16 feet by 19 feet by 32 feet).

"That's almost as big as my house," said Darori. "And because these people are rich, they will definitely give them good food."

The tigers will remain state property and will be returned to the state if they are no longer wanted, he said. Any cubs the tigers produce will be the property of the state.

Darori said he had received complaints about the plan from 12 environmental NGOs.

"So we have invited them for consultation before we continue with this plan. If we can agree, it will be put into practice as soon as possible," he said.

Greenpeace's forest campaigner, Bustar Maitar, said the plan was tantamount to selling the tigers off.

"It shows the government is not serious about addressing the real issues threatening Sumatran tigers. They need to stop issuing forest concessions," he said.

(Additional reporting by Chatrine Siswoyo; Editing by Sara Webb and Miral Fahmy)