Profauna Criticizes Karangasem District Head

Denpasar (Antara Bali) - ProFauna Bali expressed deep concern here on Friday over recent call from the Karangasem district head, Wayan Geredeg, for the killing of monkeys in the region.

Wayan Geredeg has suggested catching the animals and killing them by inserting thorny rattan leaves into their anus.

The environment non-governmental organization's representative Jatmiko Wiwoho strongly protested the district head's statement which he considered as careless, provocative and ignoring the noble value of harmony in the relations between man, the environment and God.

As has often happened in other regions, he said, cases of conflicts between men and wild animals were often caused by the depleting habitat of the animals resulting in the drop of food resources for the animals. This is what has caused strong competition among dominant male monkeys in the area.

He said the district head must not have treated the animal as the enemy of human beings that must be eradicated and treated cruelly.(IGT/T007)