Global News - July 2007

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Local villagers kill rare tiger

Wed 18 July 2007 12:30 UK — Asia

Wildlife experts have said that Indonesian villagers who killed an endangered Sumatran tiger are unlikely to face prosecution as they believed the animal was terrorising their livestock.

Radio Australia reported on Monday (July 16th) that the rare animal was found dead near Gempong Tinggi village in South Aceh province on Sumatra.

Local farmers are believed to have laid down poisoned baits to kill the animal, as they believed it had killed dozens of goats and water buffalo in recent weeks. In addition, they said that the animal was responsible for the disappearance of a local farmer earlier in the month.

There are only a few hundred Sumatran tigers left in the world and the group are the smallest sub-species of tiger left on Earth.

They are protected by Indonesian law, but wildlife activists said that the villagers were unlikely to face prosecution as they had acted in self-defence and were not engaged in poaching.

Over 60 Samaritan Tigers were recorded as being shot between 1998 and 2000 - accounting for nearly 20 per cent of the entire species population.

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