This unprecedented step by the Indonesian Council of Ulama,
in the country with the world's largest Muslim population, declares
illegal hunting or illegal trading of endangered species to be haram (forbidden).
Key to the preservation of wildlife is the acceptance of the premise that they have intrinsic value, whether observed or not. This is a matter of some debate.
One of the principles of Leave No Trace is "Respect Wildlife". Whether or not you agree with the other tenets of the Muslim faith, there are those who do, and this guidance will hopefully help shape behavior in an area of the world undergoing massive change.
"Respect Wildlife" forms a basis of Leave No Trace ethics for a couple of reasons. First is a sort of quantum logic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_%28physics%29), whereby your observation (or killing) of the animal changes the animal, i.e. leaving a trace. Wild animals that come into contact with humans and fed or harassed change their behaviors, which has a ripple effect throughout the local food chain. A harassed fox might burn critical energy avoiding you, and miss it's next kill. Without food, its kits may starve. Without enough foxes, the rodents multiply, then die off because of overpopulation. Classic predator-prey response, except the human input into the equation forces the balance out of kilter.
The University of Michigan describes it thus: http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/predation/predation.html
But here's the graph showing the population swings.
So why is this important? Recall point 7 of the LNT ethics: Be Considerate of Other Visitors. Imagine that you have had an outdoor experience, but fed or harassed (or killed) a bunch of animals. What happens to the next person who wants to have that same experience?
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