This archive report was first published on 9 December 2019.
On December 9, 2019, authorities in Indonesia made a significant breakthrough in a poaching case, arresting three individuals suspected of selling tiger skin and foetuses.
The suspects, who had previously sold another tiger skin, were found to be in possession of a second skin and the unborn mammals, which were believed to be from a tiger sold earlier in the year.
According to Edward Hutapea, wildlife enforcement chief in Pekanbaru on Sumatra island, the suspects planned to sell the skin to foreign collectors, with the bones possibly being sold for use in medicinal products popular in some parts of Asia.
"We suspect that they would sell the skin to collectors, not only in Indonesia," Hutapea told AFP on Monday.
The suspects could face up to five years in prison if convicted, and their actions highlight the ongoing threat of poaching to Sumatran tigers, which are critically endangered with fewer than 400 believed to remain in the wild.
Poaching is responsible for almost 80 percent of Sumatran tiger deaths, according to TRAFFIC, a global wildlife trade monitoring network.
