The article I read was about plantation workers in Indonesia which were involved in violently killing orangutans. The workers, which have been arrested for killing 20 or more endangered orangutans and proboscis monkeys, and claimed to be doing it for “pest control”, and said that plantation owners were offering an award for the orangutans that were killed. The workers are now facing up to five years in prison
This is a terrible shame. Indonesia has 90% of the orangutans that are left in the wild. Not only are acts like this going on, but the primates are also losing their homes in the rainforests due to environmental destruction. The ways in which they were killed were also horrible. The article said that the suspects were “chasing primates with dogs before shooting, stabbing or hacking them to death.” Hopefully a serious punishment will be implemented for these workers. These animals are endangered so it is difficult for them to stay alive as it is without these added atrocities. Yaya Rayadin, a researcher, analyzed the bones and saw markings from the abuse. He also found 15 different areas in which the bones were scattered.
Hopefully if the officials punish these people, the others who were involved will be shaken up and stop these acts. I hate to see species becoming extinct and it is especially bad when it is by violence. This could be prevented. Also with the animals’ environment being destroyed, loggers and other workers need to see the severity of losing a species and leave their environment intact.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/23/indonesian-plantation-workers-orangutan-deaths
5 comments:
From the standpoint of the plantation workers I can understand the killings of the orangutangs to stop their crop from being destroyed, but at the same time I am worried about the extinction of the orangutangs. With fines and jail time being imposed on the workers, I believe that this is a fair trade for the damage they have caused.
I believe that the workers should be punished, but what about the plantation owner who initiated these actions? I think that they should be held to just as much punishment as the workers that carried out the killing.
I don't think the workers should face large jail times, but the plantations should have serious penalties.
I can understand them not wanting the orangutangs in their crops but they are endangered. This is critical because as you stated 90% of orangutangs live in Indonesia and if they are killing them they will eventually become extinct. I read recently in Africa a type of rhino has gone extinct and this is very upsetting
I also think the plantation owners should face charges. Especially if they ordered the workers to do the killings.
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