MUI's Fatwa to Protect Endangered Animals Officially Launched

Jakarta (Antara) - The Indonesian Ulema Council's (MUI) fatwa or edict against illegal hunting and trading of endangered animals was officially launched here on Wednesday, at an event attended by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan. "The issuance of this religious edict is momentous amid ongoing destruction of our ecosystems. This fatwa is an effort to support the restoration and protection of the ecosystem," MUI Chairman Din Syamsuddin stated. The fatwa has regarded the illegal hunting and trading of endangered animals as a religiously prohibited act or "haram" by considering that every living creature has a right to live, he noted. In protecting those endangered animals, their basic needs for food, natural habitat, breeding, and not being abused by human, should be met, Din Syamsuddin elaborated. The animals can considerably be used for purposes accepted in accordance with Islamic and state laws, he added. (*) Reporting by Subagyo