ZSL Condemns Tiger Murder | Poachers Kill Endangered Tiger in Jambi Zoo, Indonesia

London, United Kingdom, August 27, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Poachers broke into the Zoo on Saturday morning and then drugged and skinned the tiger in its enclosure. They then fled from the scene leaving only a few remains of the tiger behind. It’s believed the body parts will be sold on the black market, where they’re in high demand for their use in Chinese medicine.

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is involved in conservation efforts to save the Sumatran Tiger in the region and in 2003, ran a veterinary workshop at Jambi Zoo which included the female tiger.

Sarah Christie, tiger conservation manager for ZSL said: “This tragic incident highlights the need for improved law enforcement at a local level. It is shocking that this tiger, who has contributed to tiger conservation via her role in training young Indonesian wildlife biologists and vets, should fuel the trade in wildlife parts which threatens her kind with extinction.”

ZSL conservationists have recently started working with the Jambi provincial government to set up a local wildlife crime team, using trainers from experienced and successful units elsewhere in Sumatra. The team will work with local law enforcement authorities and the staff of Berbak National Park, to prevent poaching and other illegal activities in and around the park and to investigate local wildlife traders and middlemen.

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Editorial Notes

The ZSL Indonesia programme began formally in 2002 under the sponsorship of the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) with the aim of taking a research-based, pragmatic approach to conservation in Indonesia. Initially focused specifically on the relationship between oil palm and the tiger on Sumatra, the project is now expanding to tackle a variety of conservation issues with a landscape perspective. The latest initiative is a small local wildlife crime unit. For further information please visit www.zsl.org/indonesia

ZSL coordinates the European zoo tiger breeding programme and also oversees joint management of the Australasian and European programmes. Sarah Christie has also recently taken on a role coordinating global genetic and demographic analysis of these tigers in zoos around the world, a programme authorised by the Indonesian zoo association. Zoo tigers are managed to provide, via awareness-raising, fund-raising, data generation and “the genetic lifeboat”, the maximum possible conservation support for their wild relations.

Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is an international scientific, conservation and educational charity: our key role is the conservation of animals and their habitats. The Society runs ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, carries out scientific research at the Institute of Zoology and is actively involved in field conservation overseas. For further information please visit www.zsl.org.