Greenpeace says Barbie doll is forest vandal

Major foreign firms like Walmart and KFC are contributing to forest destruction and the loss of species like Sumatran tigers by buying from Indonesian paper giant Sinar Mas, Greenpeace said Tuesday.It said Sinar Mas subsidiary Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) was "relentlessly trashing rainforests" and driving species to extinction in the Southeast Asian archipelago.

Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) said that it welcomed an investigation by US toy maker Mattel into allegations that it destroys Indonesian forests to source its products.Mattel, the maker of Barbie dolls and other toys, uses packaging materials from APP and announced Thursday it had told its suppliers "to stop sourcing pulp" from the company and would investigate allegations made by Greenpeace.

The El Segundo toy maker says it will stop buying paper and packaging from companies that Greenpeace has linked to rain forest destruction in Indonesia, including Asia Pulp & Paper.It's official: Barbie has broken up with Asia Pulp & Paper Co.

The environmental group's global campaign against the toy maker prompts the El Segundo company to tell its suppliers to stop buying products from the Singapore company accused of clear-cutting in Indonesia's rain forest.Responding to pressure from Greenpeace this week, toy maker Mattel Inc.

The Indonesian government has hatched a plan to save Sumatran tigers from extinction by allowing people to adopt captive-born animals as pets for 100,000 dollars a pair, officials said.The forestry ministry said the plan could be put into practice as early as this year despite reservations from environmentalists, who say the focus should be on protecting habitats for the remaining 200 tigers in the wild."We're not selling or renting tigers. We're only authorising people to look after them," forestry ministry conservation chief Darori told AFP.

The Indonesian government has hatched a plan to save Sumatran tigers from extinction by allowing people to adopt captive-born animals as pets for 100,000 dollars a pair, officials said.The forestry ministry said the plan could be put into practice as early as this year despite reservations from environmentalists, who say the focus should be on protecting habitats for the remaining 200 tigers in the wild."We're not selling or renting tigers. We're only authorising people to look after them," forestry ministry conservation chief Darori told AFP.

The Indonesian government has hatched a plan to save Sumatran tigers from extinction by allowing people to adopt captive-born animals as pets for 100,000 dollars a pair, officials said.The forestry ministry said the plan could be put into practice as early as this year despite reservations from environmentalists, who say the focus should be on protecting habitats for the remaining 200 tigers in the wild."We're not selling or renting tigers. We're only authorising people to look after them," forestry ministry conservation chief Darori told AFP.