The two men stand accused of trafficking tiger paws, claws, skins and even stuffed heads, authorities say

Oct 31, 2014 20:03 GMT  ·  By

Not too long ago, two men in Indonesia were taken into police custody and accused of illegally trading animal body parts. Environmental group the Wildlife Conservation Society was involved in these arrests and helped bring the two men to justice.

It is understood that the two wildlife traffickers both found customers online. For the time being, it is unclear whether the police will try to track down the people who bought animals body parts from them as well.

Not your usual merchandise

As detailed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the two men, identified are Wdy and Smr, chiefly traded tiger parts. Thus, at the time they were taken into custody, they had a tiger skin, two stuffed tiger paws, a tiger claw and a stuffed tiger head to sell.

By the looks of it, Wdy's customers were interested in acquiring tiger parts for use in religious rituals and ceremonies. The stuffed tiger head that Smr wanted to sell for over $5,000 (€4,000), on the other hand, was purely decorative.

According to the officers who handled this case and arrested the two men, Smr used to sell not just tiger skins and heads, but also lion and bear parts. These other items were also meant for people looking to use them to decorate their homes.

The fight against wildlife trafficking

Of the two wildlife traffickers, Wdy was arrested in the city of Banda Lampung in Indonesia's Lampung province. Smr, on the other hand, was tracked down and taken into custody while hanging about the port of Merak.

Given his crimes, Smr is expected to be sentenced to spending as much as 5 years behind bars. Besides, he could be made to pay a fine amounting to $10,000 (approximately €7,930). Presently, it's unclear what punishment awaits Wdy.

Tigers are currently in danger of falling off the biodiversity map. Thus, the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers the species to be an endangered one, and wildlife enthusiasts are doing their best to keep the world's remaining population from dropping any further.

Admittedly, the loss of natural habitat and run-ins with humans are a major issue for tigers alive in this day and age. Still, it's poaching that conservationists fear will eventually turn this species from an endangered into an extinct one.

Commenting on these most recent arrests, Joe Walston, the current Wildlife Conservation Society vice president for Field Conservation, said, “These recent arrests send a clear message to wildlife traffickers that Indonesia is serious about wildlife crime.”

Furthermore, “We commend the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of the Ministry of Forestry and the Indonesian Police Lampung Office for working to save Indonesia’s wildlife heritage from illegal wildlife trafficking.”