6 suspected poachers arrested over killing of 26 endangered Javan rhinos
Indonesian authorities said Wednesday that they have arrested six people as suspects in an international rhino poaching ring that wildlife advocates believe could threaten the existence of the species. The poaching ring targets the critically endangered Javan rhinoceros, one of five species of rhino that has a dwindling population of just 76, according to the conservation charity organization Save the Rhino, which is based in the United Kingdom and focuses on protecting rhinos from poaching in Africa and Asia.
The suspects recently arrested in Indonesia are part of a network that used homemade firearms to kill at least 26 Javan rhinos since 2018 to get their horns. The horns are in high demand in Asia where they’re predominantly used in traditional Chinese medicine and increasingly for making ornaments, said Banten provincial police chief Abdul Karim.
He said the six men were arrested in a joint operation by police and the Forestry and Environment Ministry last month. Yudhis Wibisana, the director of criminal investigation in Banten, told reporters this week that one of the suspects “admitted that 22 animals had been killed and their horns sold” and another “admitted four animals had been killed,” according to AFP.
in a statement that underscored the extent to which poachers have depleted the overall population of Javan rhinos in just a few years.
“It’s devastating to learn that criminal gangs claim to have killed one-third of the entire remaining Javan rhino population, bringing the future of the species into jeopardy,” Shaw said in the statement. “Arrests of members of the poaching networks around Ujung Kulon National Park are a positive development, however, it is essential that they are prosecuted to the full extent of the law and that agencies collaborate in investigating and dismantling the networks responsible for transporting the rhino horns onto the black market in China.”
AFP contributed to this report.
Source: cbsnews.com