Deaths of Indonesia’s 300 crocodiles in mob rampage must not go unpunished
Human beings should be the protectors of wildlife, not the destroyers. My organisation concurs with Basar Manullang, the head of Indonesia’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency, that crocodiles are god’s creatures that need to be protected.
What the mob has done is totally against the law. The local communities should not let the mob’s slaughter of crocodiles become a precedent for others. It could set a dangerous trend. For example, if a tiger or other endangered species were to maul someone to death, would that species be killed in this atrocious manner?
Video: Hundreds of crocodiles left dead by machete mob
Since crocodiles are a protected species in Indonesia, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry should work together with the police and the Natural Resources Conservation Agency to bring to book the initiators of this mob rampage. As crocodiles are covered by the conservation law of the country, they should be afforded appropriate protection.
Right now, the only effective way to deal with and prevent such merciless and unjustified killing is for the perpetrators to be prosecuted and jailed for lengthy periods of time.
S M Mohd Idris, president, Friends of the Earth Malaysia, Penang