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Animal Trade Illegal

Animal trade thrives amid crackdownl

http://www.well.com/~davidu/indonesiananimaltrade.html

Despite much-publicized raids on numerous animal markets, the trade of protected species continues to flourish across the archipelago, pushing rare animals into extinction and threatening the country's biodiversity, the third richest in the world.

Attempts to put an end to such practices have so far failed, as eventually all operation plans, including those most covert, are always leaked to traders, which has raised suspicions that law enforcers are part and parcel of the animal trade network.

"Operation plans always get leaked so animal traders know beforehand about raids," said supervisor Willie Smits of Jakarta-based Schmutzer Primate Center, stressing that illegal trade had become the biggest cause of extinction for many animal species.

Spanning thousands of kilometers, Indonesia is home to 12 percent of the world's mammalian species, 17 percent of bird species, 15 percent of reptilian and amphibian species and about 25 percent of fish species. The population of these species, however, has dropped rapidly over the past few decades due to poaching and illegal trade.

Some flagship species, including the Sumatran rhinoceros (direrorhynchus sumatranus), Sumatran elephant (elephas maximus sumatranus), Sumatran tiger (panthera tigris sumatrae), Balinese tiger (panthera tigris balica) and Javanese tiger (panthera tigris sundaicus) are already on the brink of extinction.

"If we look at the biodiversity of Indonesia, it is one of the top three in the world, but we have the longest list of species threatened by extinction in the world as well," Smits said.

An investigation by non-governmental organization ProFauna Indonesia reveals that inter-island trade of endangered species continues openly in Lampung, Bengkulu, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Papua, South Sulawesi, Bali, East Java, Yogyakarta, Central Java, West Java and Jakarta, with relevant authorities making no visible attempt to stop the transactions.

Topping the list of rare animals traded are reptiles, birds and primates, with Jakarta's Pramuka bird market remaining the main destination, followed by Surabaya's Bratang and Semarang's Karimata bird markets. Virtually all animals sold in these markets, protected or otherwise, come from Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Ambon, Maluku and Papua.

"If you go to Pramuka bird market, you can buy komodo lizards or orangutans every day. There seems to be no species that you cannot buy there," said Smits.

Pramuka is the world's largest illegal animal market.

Hardi Baktiantoro of ProFauna Indonesia said animal traders in Lampung, Sumatra, often hired elderly women to take thousands of animals, including rare species, to Jakarta's Pramuka bird market weekly.

These elderly women, Hardi said, traveled by public transportation from Bandar Lampung to Pramuka bird market, from where the animals were distributed to other cities across Java, including Surabaya and Semarang.

"Thousands of gibbons, owls and eagles are exported from Lampung to Java through the Bakauheni and Merak ports every week," he said. Most of the protected species are usually collected from Kotabumi, Liwa, Prabumilih and Martapura in Sumatra.

According to ProFauna, the trade in protected animals in Surabaya, East Java, is concentrated at Bratang bird market, where at least 100 endangered species of various classes are sold freely every month, including the long-tailed Javanese monkey (trachypithecus auratus), eagles, yellow-crested cockatoos and gibbons.

Meanwhile, orangutan traders operate in all four provinces in Kalimantan without fear of being apprehended by law enforcers.

Iwan Setiawan of the Indonesian Nature Conservation Centre (PILI) said up to 20 orangutans (pongo pygmaeus) from Kalimantan are smuggled every month into Java aboard barges carrying a consignment of logs through Semarang's Tanjung Emas and Surabaya's Tanjung Perak seaports.

Rare bird species such as cockatoos and paradise birds from Maluku and Papua have also been smuggled into Java through Surabaya.

According to Smits, buyers of illegally traded protected animals usually hail from the upper classes, and are thus educated and understand law. In some cases, protected animals end up in the hands of high-ranking military and police officers, who receive protected animals as gifts when they are transferred to a new posting.

"These educated, richer and well-off people are giving horrible examples to the rest of society, that it is okay to own protected animals illegally. In so doing, they indirectly promote this huge wildlife trade in Indonesia," Smits said. "We need a mass campaign to shame these people for breaking the law."

Aside from domestic trade, some of Indonesia's rare animals have also been smuggled overseas. From December 2002 to June 25, 2003, 40 orangutans were smuggled out of the country -- three to Taiwan, one to Japan, two to the United Kingdom, one to Italy, three to Germany, two to Canada and three to the Netherlands.

The orangutan smugglers' usual route begins in Central Kalimantan, from where the primates are shipped to Surabaya on barges carrying logs. From Surabaya, they are transported over land to Jakarta through Semarang and Bandung in West Java. From Jakarta, the orangutans are exported to Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand, often through the country's main international gateway -- Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The absence of clear guides identifying protected animals and a system to identify each animal uniquely has long been considered as a main reason as to customs officials' incapability of stopping protected animals from being smuggled overseas.

Iwan, however, said Indonesia's trade in rare and protected animals also involved international networks that facilitate the smuggling of endangered, indigenous animals to countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

"They (traders) are extremely well organized and have connections with a lot of different institutions in Indonesia. They have a lot of contacts they can use to help them smuggle," asserted Smits.

Officials estimate the value of the Indonesian animal trade at US$1 billion (Rp 8.45 trillion) annually, with the bulk of profits enjoyed by international smugglers. An orangutan, for example, is sold for up to $50,000 in Europe.

In the first semester of 2003, Jakarta authorities foiled at least four attempts to smuggle protected animals to Kuwait, Japan and Malaysia. Jakarta Police authorities are now questioning Kuwaiti nationals Gholamreza Akbari, Jousef Almesfer and Mashan Alharban, and Japanese national Ohashi Masayuki for their alleged involvement in the smuggling attempts.

In addition, three exporting companies -- CV Maju Akuarium, PT Viva Jaya and CV Inti Dwitama -- are also undergoing questioning by Jakarta's Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) and the Tanjung Priok customs office.

But protected animals are also smuggled through Polonia Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, Pontianak in West Kalimantan, Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, Samarinda in East Kalimantan and Surabaya in East Java, as well as Denpasar, Bali.

Just recently, 196 Kalimantan orangutans were found at a zoo in Thailand and 30 in the United Kingdom, which were smuggled out of West Kalimantan to Malaysia, then to Thailand and several European countries. At least 10 orangutans are smuggled through this route every month. Meanwhile, 23 orangutans were smuggled to Japan recently through Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, in hand luggage.

Indonesia is a 1987 signatory to the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) and has effectively committing itself to an international campaign to stop the trade in endangered species. The government also enacted Law No. 5 in 1999 on protected animals, criminalizing both trade in and ownership of protected animals with a punishment of up to five years in jail and/or a Rp 100 million (US$11,200) fine. However, only seven small traders have been sentenced so far, while the big players continue their business undisturbed.

No action has been taken so far against a Malaysian who kept hundreds of protected animals at his rented house in Permata Hijau, South Jakarta, while an investigation into the three Kuwaiti men caught with hundreds of rare animals -- including gibbons -- at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in 2003 has gone nowhere. Many high-ranking government officials, legislators and actors keep rare animals at home as pets with little attempts by law enforcers to confiscate them.

"The government has no political will to end the animal trade, and no government official is strong enough to stop the practice," said Yusuf Makasau of the BKSDA Jakarta.

Yusuf, who broke an arm during a raid against a trader of protected animals at a Jakarta animal market, said most law enforcers were merely paying lip service in their campaigns against the illegal animal trade.

"Pramuka bird market is just a kilometer away, but police and other relevant authorities cannot stop the trade in rare animals there. Any plan to raid the market always gets leaked," he said.

Yusuf, who is known for his initiative to involve the press in raids, said involving the media was highly effective in cracking down on the illegal trade and ownership of rare and protected animals.

"It's been my experience that involving both electronic and print media in raids is very effective, even against high-ranking government officials," he said, pointing out that many owners had voluntarily surrendered their protected animals, since his office brings the media along on raids.

"Almost every week, people surrender their animals to police," he said, but added that conducting raids with police authorities alone was not enough.

Yusuf also laments that owners of protected animals are not prosecuted, as most law enforcers felt that the owners were no longer violating the law once they surrendered the animals.

"Ideally, the owners must be charged even if they surrender their animals. Our law is not being implemented," he said.

Still, even those taken to court are charged with violating Law No. 5/1999 rather than with a criminal act, which results in a light sentence and fine, even an acquittal, said Budi Harto, media relations officer at the Cikananga Animal Rescue Centre (PPS Cikananga) in Sukabumi, West Java.

"We want animal owners and traders to face criminal charges, as stipulated by law," said Budi, adding that the poor law enforcement had only encouraged the illegal trade in rare and protected animals.

The lack of will among authorities to implement existing laws has not only encouraged the trade, but has also raised suspicions that law enforcers have their hand in the nationwide, illegal animal trade.

Not too long ago, a Surabaya resident whose gibbon was confiscated by forestry officials found the primate on the following day at the local flea market.

"We know that some authorities, even those from zoos and the forestry ministry, have ties with animal traders at illegal markets," Smits said.

"If we look at the number of orangutans alone, which are really difficult to smuggle out because they are big, we can imagine that the trade in rare parrot- and reptile eggs is enormous," he said.

Smits calls on government authorities to enforce existing laws to the fullest in order to put an end to the country's illegal animal trade.

"The simplest way to do this is to enforce the laws strictly. The people will learn by example," he said.

If this is to ensue, authorities must make a comprehensive, organized nationwide effort involving the media and conservation groups, starting with the confiscation of those protected animals in the possession of public figures, supported by raids on animal markets and tightening security and customs measures at domestic and international ports. (END/KD)

Thousands Indonesian Parrots are smugles to the Philippines

http://www.profauna.org/profaunanews/2008news/pirated-parrot.html

In their latest report entitled ‘PIRATED PARROTS’, the Indonesian wildlife protection NGO ProFauna Indonesia, revealed the evidence on the smuggling of wild caught parrots in Sulawesi and North Halmahera in Indonesia to Philippines during their investigation.

The investigation, which was supported by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and conducted in 2007, uncovered the parrot smuggling network from Indonesia to the Philippines. The parrots poached in North Halmahera are; white Cockatoos (Cacatua alba), chattering Lorys (Lorius garrulus), Eclectus parrots (Eclectus roratus) and the violet-necked Lorys (Eos squamata). The Eclectus parrot is a protected species which is prohibited for trade.

The catch quota of white cockatoos (Cacatua alba) for 2007, issued by the General Director of PHKA, of the Indonesian Forestry Department, is 10 pairs and only for breeding purpose. However, the investigation revealed that at least 200 white Cockatoos were caught from the wild in North Halmahera in 2007, which far exceeded the quota.

The red-and-blue Lorys (Eos histrio), endangered species, are also being smuggled. Fortunately, the red-and-blue Lory poaching and trade have decreased drastically due to active confiscation operations conducted by the forestry department rangers in 2005. The local authority’s regulation in the villages in Karakelang Island, an island in Talaud Islands group, bordering Indonesia and Philippines, prohibits the poaching of red-and-blue Lory. Thus helps reduce the trade.
OFFSHORE TRANSACTIONS

Most of the Indonesian parrots come from Halmahera Island, North of Maluku. 40% of them are smuggled to the Philippines from the port in Pelita Village, Galela District in northern Halmahera. An illegal wildlife dealer named Mei Lumombo operates from there. He smuggles the birds to Balut Island or to General Santos, in the Philippines, using a private boat.

The sea journey alone to smuggle parrots from Halmahera, Indonesia to General Santos, in the Philippines takes 9 hours. The journey from the forest to villages and to the port also takes a long time. Most boats carrying the smuggled Indonesian parrots do not dock at the General Santos port to unload. The transactions are done offshore or in the sea, where the Philippines dealers collect the parrots from the Indonesian ships. Upon arrival at General Santos, the birds are sent to Cartimar market, in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

The parrot’s death rate is as high as 40 % by the time they arrive at the sales points. For every 1000 parrots caught from the wild, 400 birds died in vain, during the poaching, transportation and trade, due to poor conditions and cruel handling.
LACK OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

The parrot smuggling to the Philippines breaks the CITES (Convention of International on Trade in Endangered Species) agreements, ratified by Indonesia in 1978. Most parrots are listed in Appendix II. Parrots in CITES Appendix II are prohibited from international commercial trade unless they are captive bred or permitted by the exporting country. In Indonesia the bird trade is controlled by the catch quota. Parrots in the trade are not captive bred.

From the interviews with some animal traders in Cartimar market in Manila, the Philippines, ProFauna uncovered that some of the birds smuggled from Indonesia were intended for export to other countries and to be labelled as captive-bred. It is therefore necessary for the Philippines authority to control and check the parrot breeding centre and the source of parrots for export.

The illegal trade of protected parrots violates the Indonesian legislation of the 1990 (a wildlife law concerning Natural Resources and the Ecosystems Conservations). Accordingly, the perpetrators are liable to a maximum five-year prison term and a maximum 100 million Rupiah fine. Unfortunately, the Indonesian governments has not enforced the law because many protected parrot are still being smuggled abroad and sold openly in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia.

At least once in every two weeks there is a freight vessel that dock at Surabaya sea port, transporting illegal parrots. There are about 30 birds of various species being smuggled to Surabaya per shipment. From the data collected by ProFauna about animal markets in Java and Bali, the domestic trade in parrots is still at a high level. The most wanted species is the black-capped Lory (Lorius lory), the second is the sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) and the third is the Eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus).

Tri Prayudhi, ProFauna’s Campaign Officer stated, ” The Navy of Indonesian Armed Force (TNI) and the Indonesian Marine Police must improve the patrol of marine boundaries between Indonesia and the Philippines seas and the route used for wildlife smuggling from Indonesia to Philippines”. ProFauna strongly recommends that both Indonesian and the Philippines governments implement and enforce their wildlife laws.

In addition to the necessity of law enforcement to stop the illegal parrot trade, ProFauna urges the Indonesian government to raise the status of white Cockatoo (Cacatua alba), endemic species of Northern Maluku as Indonesian protected species.

The Trafficking of Kukangs or Slow Lorises ( Nycticebus coucang)

http://www.profauna.or.id/English/pressrelease/coucank-traficking07.html

* Nycticebus coucang - found in Malaya, Sumatera and Kalimantan including the nearby islands.
* Nycticebus pygmaeus - found in Indo China, Laos and Cambodia
* Nycticebus bengalensis - found in India until Thailand.
* Nycticebus javanicus, only found in Java (Jawa), Indonesia

Slow lorises or kukang, are primates which live in the tropical forest, preferring primary and secondary forests, in the bush and amongst bamboo forests. The distribution of the species in Indonesia can be found in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Jawa. So far there is no accurate data on their current population in the wild. However the shrinkage of the habitat forest and the high levels of poaching and trafficking can be used as an indicator that the slow loris wild population has decreased.

1.1. Protection of slow lorieses or kukangs:
Slow lorises have been protected since 1973 by Indonesian law through the Agriculture Ministerial decree of 14 February 1973, no. 66/Kpts/Um2/1973, which was strengthened by the Indonesian government legislation no. 7 of 1999 in respect of the preservation of Fauna and Flora, in which slow lorises are listed as a protected species.

According to the Indonesian State’s legislation no. 5 of 1990 concerning the conservation of natural resources and ecosystems (article 21, no 2), the trade and the possession of protected animals including slow lorises are forbidden. The perpetrator will receive a jail sentence of 5 years and Rp 100 Million (US$11,000) fine.Slow lorises are thus legally protected by the Indonesian State’s legislation and law.

Their status according to IUCN is vulnerable, which means it is threatened by 10% rate of extinction in 10 years time. Meanwhile CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora) has included kukangs in the Appendix II.

2. Trapping or poaching of slow lorises from the wild

According to the survey conducted by ProFauna Indonesia from 2000 to 2006, all slow lorises which are traded freely in several bird markets are caught from the wild, not from captive breeding.

The main poaching locations in Indonesia are:

• Kabupaten Sumedang( Sumedang Regency), West Jawa:

One of the poaching locations is Kareumbi forest in Sumedang regency, west Jawa. The traditional poaching technique used is to catch slow lorises directly from the bamboo trees. Poaching has been intensified since1985.

A poacher could catch between 6 - 7 animals per day. Poached animals were sold to the whole sellers or wildlife traders, who supply them to various bird markets in the cities of Bandung, Jakarta, Semarang or Surabaya.

• Sukabumi, West Jawa:

It is becoming more difficult to catch slow loris in Sukabumi. Prior to 2000 Sukabumi was one of the suppliers of slow lorises in Indonesia. It is likely that the slow lorises wild population has decreased much which makes it more difficult to find.

• Bengkulu, Sumatera:

At least 40 slow lorises are poached and trafficked each month in Bengkulu (data 2004 -2006). Most of the animals were poached from the Kerinci Seblat National Park. The traders value each loris at Rp 10,000 to Rp 15,000 (US$11 - $16). At the bird markets a slow loris is sold for between Rp 100,000 - Rp 150,000 (US£110 - $ 160).

2.1. Teeth extraction of slow lorises:

To give the false impression to prospective buyers that slow lorises are tame, cute and do not bite, wildlife traders extract the animals’ teeth using pliers without pain killers. The extraction process often causes fracture and breakage to the teeth in addition to mouth injuries.

After the teeth extraction, the animals are hung upside down by holding the legs and are then swung in a circle, in the belief that it would stop the bleeding. Many animals suffer infection following the teeth extraction, some even die from the process.

3. The trafficking of slow lorises

Evidence from nine bird markets in Jawa and Bali held under observation by ProFauna Indonesia show that slow lorises are highly sought after wild animals.

The above recorded data in table 1 is based on the visible open trade in the bird markets. The number on other illicit trade, where animals are concealed and traded discreetly would probably be much higher.

ProFauna observed in 2002, at least 5,000 slow lorises were smuggled from Sumatera to Jawa via Lampung. This causes an impact on the wild population of slow lorises in Sumatera. Slow lorises are also traded in other cities outside Jawa Island. On 9th June 2004, it was recorded that 12 slow lorises were seen in Bintang bird market on the day in Medan, North Sumatra. Each animal was sold at Rp 150,000 (US$160) each.

Slow lorises are also sold in the following areas:

􀂃 Banjarmasin city, South Kalimantan at, Ahad Market (J. A. Yani) and in Sudi Mampir market (near Plaza Metro City).

􀂃 Palembang city in South Sumatra, where large number of animals are sold at Enambelas Ilir Market. Each month approximately between 40 - 60 animals are sold at Rp 100,000 – Rp 200,000 (US$ 110 - $210) each.

􀂃 In addition to the bird markets, slow lorises are also openly sold in shopping malls. On 3rd July 2004, in front of the square of Malang Mall, 2 slow lorises were offered for sale at Rp 175,000 (US$190) each.

􀂃 In Bandung city, West Java, at Indah Plaza (BIP) each day there are 3 - 5 slow lorises on display for sale at a price of Rp 150,000 - Rp 200,000 (US$160 - US$ 210) each.

3.1. The use of slow lorises as bushmeat and in “traditional medicine”

Beside being traded as exotic pets, slow lorises are also killed for bush meat and “traditional medicine”. It is believed that the meat of slow loris increase male power and acts as an aphrodisiac. The bone of the slow loris is also believed to have the magical power to avert danger or is used as a lucky charm to give peace in the household.

3.2. Smuggling of slow lorises to overseas:

Apart from the domestic trade, slow lorises are smuggled overseas. In January 2003, the Indonesian police confiscated 91 slow lorises from a Kuwaiti citizen at the Jakarta Soekarno Hatta airport. The animals were destined for Kuwait. Unfortunately this smuggling case became blurred, possibly dropped by the authorities without any clear outcome.

On 27th June 2004, an attempt to smuggle 3 slow lorises via Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta airport was intercepted. The animals were destined for Japan and Korea.

4. Law enforcement:

Slow lorises are legally protected by law in Indonesia; the trafficking is therefore illegal and is a crime. Despite the efforts by the Forestry Police to enforce the law and confiscate traded animals, they are still widely available for sale. From records in 2003, ProFauna Indonesia has assisted the forestry police to confiscate 49 slow lorises in Jakarta and the surrounding areas. Other recorded law enforcement efforts include:

􀂃 The wildlife rescue centres (PPS) in East Jawa and Yogyakarta recorded 15 slow lorises rescued in 2006 as a result of confiscation by the forestry police from traffickers.

􀂃 On 3rd July 2004, BKSDA DKI (Bureau of Conservation and Natural Resources Jakarta) confiscated a baby slow loris amongst Javan langurs (Trachypithecus auratus) and jungle cats (Felis bengalensis), from a trader in Barito bird market in South of Jakarta.

􀂃 On 25th June 2003 an elderly female wildlife trafficker was found in an attempt to smuggle various wild animals including slow lorises in Lampung, Sumatera. Unfortunately, the case was dropped due to consideration of her age.

􀂃 Positive results were recorded by ProFauna Indonesia in Malang bird market, East Jawa, showing an absent of slow loris since 2004, compared to the last record of 38 slow lorises sold in this market in 1999. The lack of visible slow loris trade in Malang bird market was mainly due to regular inspections made by the Bureau of Conservation and Natural Resources East Java II.

5. Slow lorises are threatened with extinction:

Based on the investigation and monitoring conducted by ProFauna from 2002 to 2006, there are approximately 6000 to 7000 slow lorises caught each year from the wild in Indonesia, a completely unsustainable figure. This poses a serious threat to the preservation of slow lorises, particularly in view of the slow birth rate of the species, with a maximum of one offspring every one and a half years.

Another factor is the lack of scientific data about their population in the wild. It is becoming hard to find these nocturnal and slow moving animals, although practiced and cunning poachers seem to have no difficulty in catching them.

"KSBK" Studies Indonesian Animal Markets

http://www.ippl.org/ksbk.php

Indonesia is the second richest country in the world in terms of primate species. There are 36 species living on various Indonesian islands. Five of them live on Java Island, including the crab-eating macaque, the ebony langur, the slow loris, the moloch gibbon and the grizzled leaf monkey.

Although Java has fewer primate species, it has an important role in Indonesian primate conservation. Java, the center of Indonesian administration, plays an influential role in primate exploitation.

Many primates taken from Sumatra or Kalimantan (Borneo) are traded in Java. The majority of Indonesia's "bird markets" are on the island of Java. Besides selling many birds, market dealers also sell primates on the bird markets, including many brought to Java from other islands.

The Study

The domestic wildlife trade in Java is spread around various bird markets in many places. The bird markets range in size; some have one stall and some have hundreds. In Java there are about 10-20 big bird markets (with more than 20 stalls) and hundreds of small bird markets (with less than 20 stalls).

KSBK studied the bird markets during February - July 1998. Among the activities are: recording of numbers, species, prices and origin of animals.

Weekly monitoring is conducted on the Malang and Bratang Surabaya bird markets.

Bird Markets Investigated
We checked the following markets:
* Pramuka, Jakarta, Java, 4 visits,
* Barito, Jakarta, Java, 4 visits,
* Sukahaji Bandung, Java, 2 visits,
* Ngasem, Yogyakarta, Java, 4 visits,
* Bratang, Surabaya, Java, 12 visits,
* Pasar Turi, Surabaya, Java, 6 visits,
* Malang, Java, 26 visits,
* Gebang Jember, Java, 4 visits,
* Sapria, Denpasar, Bali, 22 visits
The biggest bird market is Pramuka, Jakarta, followed by Bratang, Surabaya and Malang. Pramuka Bird Market is considered the biggest in Asia.

Primate Species Traded
Our investigation of 9 bird markets showed that eight primate species were being sold:
* ebony langur Trachypithecus aurata,
* crab-eating macaque Macaca fascicularis,
* slow loris Nycticebus coucang,
* pigtail macaque Macaca nemestrina,
* agile (dark-handed) gibbon Hylobates agilis,
* Mueller's grey Bornean gibbon Hylobates muelleri,
* siamang Hylobates syndactylus,
* orangutan Pongo pygmaeus.
The primate species most commonly traded at the bird markets of Java and Bali are the ebony langur and the crab-eating macaque. Also commonly found is the slow loris, especially at Pramuka and Malang.

As soon as we enter Pramuka, we are approached by vendors offering slow lorises which they often hold in their hands. The shy nocturnal primates look stressed because they are forced to be active by day.

Gibbons are not traded at all markets. Some of the markets selling gibbons are Pramuka, Baratang, Pasar Turi, Gebang
Jember and Malang.
Only two bird markets sell orangutans: Pramuka and Malang. The trade in these species is often kept secret because gibbons and orangutans are protected by law, whereas the ebony langurs and crab-eating monkeys are not.

Available Only on Order!

Some markets do not appear to be selling gibbons and orangutans but, if we pretend to be interested in buying them, the trader will enthusiastically claim to be able to obtain them, in any quantity.

This happens at Bratang, Pasar Turi and Gebang Jember.

People wanting to buy gibbons just order them, paying the trader in advance. Within a week a gibbon can be delivered to the buyer's home or picked up at the market.

One trader at Gebang Jember said that home delivery would be safer because the PHPA [the government agency enforcing wildlife laws] might seize the animal if he/she was offered openly for sale. But gibbons are traded openly at Pramuka and Malang.

The markets with the largest number of gibbons for sale are Pramuka and Malang.

Volume of Trade

We estimate that approximately 172 primates were traded at the bird markets during our study. Of these, 47% were crab-eating macaques.

The bird market with the largest number of primates being sold is Pramuka, followed by Sapria Denpasar. The markets where the smallest numbers of primates are sold are Gebang Jember with 4 individual animals and Sukahaji with 6.

Two Mueller's gibbons and two agile gibbons were seen at the Malang Bird Market in March 1998. In April 1998, one orangutan was offered at Malang and in July, two orangutans.

In June 1998 the Bratang bird market in Surabaya, which normally had a low volume of primate sales, had a relative glut of primates: 11 crab-eating macaques, 4 ebony langurs, 1 agile gibbon, and 1 Mueller's gibbon.

The large number of primates sold at Pramuka included 1 agile gibbon and one orangutan.

Prices

Prices for primates vary from market to market.

Crab-eating macaques are often sold for US $10, but for less at some markets. Pigtail macaques sell at a higher price (US $25). The ebony langur is more expensive. The reasons are that the pigtail monkey is caught outside Java and it has a short tail.

Prices for gibbons range from US $50-100 and, for orangutans, US $200-300.

Besides the species, the price range depends on the animal's age. The younger primate is usually more expensive than the adult. Younger primates are usually easier to tame than adults. That is why most of the primates sold at the bird markets are young animals or even babies. A juvenile or baby ebony langur is usually sold for $10 or more, an older one for only $2.50. A baby orangutan is offered for $300, but an adult sells for only $100.

Condition of Primates

Most of the primates sold at the bird markets are kept in small bird cages. The size of the cage is usually around 1 x 0.5 x 0.5 meters. Some are kept in cages 1 x 1 x 0.5 meters. The primates are usually in bad condition. They seem to be dirty, pale and skinny. Many of them are sick or even dead.

Two to five individual primates are put in a small bird cage. The crab-eating macaques and ebony langurs are usually babies. Often these babies are dead from thirst. They are kept in a cage or cardboard box in the open sun.

The market gibbons are bathed by the trader. They are bathed with soapy water. The gibbon often looks cold and has irritated eyes. After they are bathed, they are placed in the sun.

Trade Routes

Around 80% of the traders at Java's bird markets are ethnic Madura. Primate traders in Sapria-Denpasar are mostly ethnic Javanese with a few Madura. The origin of the dealers affects what primates are sold.

The ebony langurs and crab-eating macaques on sale at Pramuka, Malang and Surabaya are mostly taken from locations in East Java, with some coming from West Java. Those at Denpasar come mainly from Central Java.

From the capture location, the primates are usually collected by traders who deliver them to bird markets. They are usually carried in a cardboard box or small cage by public transportation.

Gibbons and orangutans traded in Java are caught in Sumatra and Kalimantan. They are sent to Java by ferry. Usually these ferries dock in Tanjung Perak, Surabaya, or Tanjung Periak, Jakarta. From the port, the gibbons and orangutans are delivered to collectors by car. Then they are sold at the bird markets.

The orangutans sold at Malang Bird Market originate from Pramuka Market traders.

Ebony langurs and crab-eating macaques are caught in conservation areas and nearby areas. Among the capture areas are:
* Merubetiri National Park, East Java,
* Baluran National Park, East Java,
* Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park,
* South Malang, East Java,
* Mt. Lamongan, Lumajang, East Java,
* Alas Purwa National Park, East Java,
* Kaliurang, Yogyakarta,
* Mt. Slamet, Central Java,
* Sukabumi, West Java,
* Halimun National Park, West Java.

Capture Methods in Java

Sometimes primates are netted. Some hunters use trained dogs. Sometimes food with high alcohol content such as fermented cassava is used to catch macaques. Primates are also shot for meat.

Siamang - only $5

There is a great difference between primate prices at the capture location and in the bird markets. A crab-eating monkey sells for an average of US $1 at Merubetiri and $10 at a bird market. An ebony langur sells for $1.50-2.50 at the source and $12.50 at the market.

A young siamang sells for $5 at Bengkulu, Sumatra, and $50 at the market.

The forest fires in Kalimantan have also caused an increase in the orangutan trade. The increasing numbers result from the orangutans fleeing the fires, which makes hunting and capture easier.

Fate of the Primates

Has the primates' travel ordeal finished once they reach the bird markets? No, because once the primate is sold it will move to the buyer's residence.

Actually it is difficult to understand why people keep primates in cages. Many people say they enjoy keeping primates because their behavior is so like human behavior, so they pay a lot of money for them.

There is also another reason to keep primates - that is to have them as "status symbols." This especially applies to gibbons and orangutans.

From our survey of primate owners, we conclude:
* Mostly the primates are placed in small cages. For crab-eating macaques, they are sometimes tied up by the waist.
* Gibbons and orangutans are usually placed in an individual cage. Sometimes there are two individuals in one cage, usually both males. It is rare for a cage to consist of a pair of orangutans or gibbons.
* The primates are fed food such as bananas, rice, bread, fruits, etc.
* For crab-eating macaques or ebony langurs, the cage is usually placed in front of or alongside their owner's home. In contrast, the protected species such as orangutans and gibbons, are usually placed behind or inside the house.

Who Keeps Pet Primates?

The answer to this question varies. Anyone can own a crab-eating macaque or ebony langur - owners may be traders, farmers, teachers, soldiers or students at college or high school. The low price of these species means that most people in Java can afford them.

It is different for orangutans and gibbons for two reasons. Firstly, these primates are expensive and, secondly, they are protected species. Usually owners of these species are high government officials, army personnel, artists and hotel owners. These kinds of people have more money and often they have immunity from the law, so they can easily keep these primates.

Keeping of Pet Primates

The primates kept as pets serve merely as objects of entertainment. It is b***-s*** [total nonsense!] to claim the keeping of pet primates is for conservation or breeding reasons. How can they breed if they have animals of just one sex or only one individual!

Frequently the primates are beaten, harassed, dragged around, or forced to take walks with their owners, even though the primates dislike being used this way. The more upset the primate gets, the more the owners like it, because they think it is very entertaining.

KSBK learned during its 1994 investigation of the primate trade that, between macaques' or langurs' capture and arrival at the bird markets, 20% of them were dead. So if there are 100 primates at the bird market, then 20 primates died useless deaths.

Primates at Shopping Centers

Currently, primate trade is going on not just at the bird markets but also at shopping centers and department stores in the large cities of Java. It is not unusual to be entering a department store and suddenly find onself offered a baby slow loris by primate traders in the area.

Usually the primates are sold in front of the entrance to the store. The primate traders offer their primates to visitors.

This primate trading is a threat to primate conservation in Indonesia. Why? Because most of the shoppers are wealthy, and can afford the primates. Moreover, there are a lot of wealthy people who previously had no interest in primates but, when they are offered a cute baby, they get interested.

Some of the department stores and shopping centers where primates are often traded are:

* Tunjungan Plaza, a shopping center in Surabaya, East Java (sells animals from Bratang Bird Market),
* Bandung Indah Plaza, Bandung, a shopping center in West Java (sells animals from Pramuka Bird Market),
* Blok M Plaza, a large shopping center in Jakarta.
Not only is there selling of primates outside department stores, there is now a legal stall for selling pets inside the Fontana Supermarket in Surabaya, East Java. Here we saw a slow loris, a python, a sulphur crested cockatoo and a palm cockatoo for sale.
Usually prices are higher at the department stores than at the bird markets.
Some of the primate traders lie to potential customers. Sometimes baby crab-eating macaques are sold as endangered "dwarf monkeys" ("monyet kubu"). The buyer is going to have a surprise when he finds out that the monkey will grow much larger.

Primates at Hotels

To attract visitors, some hotels establish mini-zoos. Among the facilities exhibiting primates in Malang are:

* The Kusuma Agro Wisata Hotel, Malang, which has 4 ebony langurs, 2 crab-eating macaques, 2 siamangs, 3 pigtail macaques and three agile gibbons,
* The Royal Orchid Hotel, Malang, which has crab-eating monkeys and ebony langurs,
* The Kantri Restaurant, Malang, which has an orangutan.
The Kusuma Agro Wisata Hotel has no PHPA licenses for any of its primates. There is a sign in front of the cage which states that the animals belong to an army colonel.

The growing number of primates traded at shopping centers, department stores and hotels is a serious and growing threat to conservation of Indonesia's primates. KSBK is protesting strongly as part of its "Don't Buy Wild Animals" campaign.

Slaughter of ebony langurs

Besides being sold as a pet at the bird markets, the ebony langur is being slaughtered for medical reasons. Many Javanese people believe that the meat of the ebony langur cures asthma. People buy langurs from hunters in order to get them at a cheaper price.

Ebony langur meat is used not just for medicine but as a snack along with alcoholic beverages.

PHPA Officer May be Involved

In the course of investigating primate hunting in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, we found to our surprise that the PHPA Forestry Department ranger is apparently involved in ebony langur hunting.

According to one of the hunters in Darungan Village, on the edge of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, the ranger doesn't forbid them to hunt wild animals around the national park area, but they have to give half what they hunt to the ranger.

The slaughter of ebony langurs, which appears to be condoned by that forest officer, probably happens around other conservation areas of Indonesia.

For if there is no strict control from top leadership, it makes the forest officer a "little king" in his territory. Nobody knows what the forest officer does in isolated national conservation areas.

Lorises

In Denpasar we can find a medicine trader who sells skins and bones of slow lorises. According to the trader, skins of the slow loris can be used as a "magical tool" to prevent disaster. The method used is to hang the skin of the slow loris above the door of the house.

Lack of Control at Bird Markets

The Indonesian government institution which is responsible for controlling the trade in Indonesian wildlife is the PHPA (Forestry Protection and Nature Conservation). Unfortunately PHPA control over the animal markets is weak. At most bird markets there is never any control.

During our weekly observations at Malang and Bratang bird markets, it was rare to find a PHPA officer doing his job controlling the trading. As a result, trading of protected species was relatively easy.

Although control is weak, it doesn't mean that PHPA does not do anything to control the primate trade at the bird market. Frequently the PHPA officer does check the bird market, but the protected species are never found there. After the monitoring work is completed, the trading in protected species resumes.

In some bird markets, each trader reportedly pays a certain amount to the PHPA officer each month - for example at Pramuka Jakarta and Malang Market. The result is that, if there is to be a seizure operation, the officer will tell the traders. Thus the traders will have time to hide their protected animals.

The response of the PHPA to the increasing amount of trading around the department stores seems very slow. Although trade information has been given many times, the local PHPA officer always waits for orders from the central office which is in Jakarta.

Poor Control in Protected Areas

Although the ebony langur and crab-eating macaque are not protected species, their Gibbons astatus is definitely protected if they live in a nature conservation (protected) area. This means that no primate may be hunted or poached for any purpose. But primate poaching still exists in the nature conservation areas.

The number of rangers is not adequate compared with the wide area to be protected, which is one reason why poaching continues.

The unwillingness of the rangers to patrol the area periodically makes the condition worse. The rangers mostly stay at the entry post or at the ticket office.

The populations of ebony langurs and crab-eating macaques are safe in some places but, with the high degree of exploitation, the populations will decline drastically very soon.

Moreover, almost all the primates traded on Java and Bali bird markets are not born in captivity but are taken directly from nature. The high mortality of primates during transport serves to increase the losses from nature.

The Slow Loris Mystery

There is a big question among Indonesian conservationists regarding the population of slow loris in nature. Concern is increased because of the high volume of loris trade on the bird markets. The volume of trade is second only to that of crab-eating macaques.

We can conclude that the slow lorises sold on bird markets were caught in nature. However, the slow loris is one of the primate species protected by Indonesian law.

The nocturnal behavior of the slow loris and its small size make it complicated to study the status of the species in nature.

Gibbons and Orangutans

All species of gibbons and orangutans are protected, which means that buying, selling or owning them is prohibited by law (Indonesian Law 5/1990 concerning conservation of living resources and their ecosystems). According to the act, whosoever intentionally violates regulations regarding trading or possession of endangered species shall be liable to punishment up to a maximum of 5 years and a fine up to US $10,000.

Keeping of orangutans requires special authorization by the President of Indonesia.

Unfortunately, the act isn't enforced - it is just a slogan. The high rate of ownership of gibbons and orangutans by government high officials and army officials has not been affected by the new law. These people keep these species without any permits from PHPA.

Many Indonesian artists and singers also like to keep primates, especially orangutans, and this encourages others to do so. It is common for performers to pose for photos or TV with their pet primates.

"KSBK" MAKES THESE RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The trade in protected and endangered primates continues at bird markets in Java and Bali. Control and monitoring by government agencies are required. This monitoring should involve NGOs (non governmental organizations).
2. PHPA should increase its supervision of PHPA rangers, especially those who work inside the nature conservation areas and bird markets. There are a lot of PHPA rangers who are still in collusion with hunters or primate traders. The government should consider involving NGOs in this control.
3. PHPA should consider adding rangers to work outside the conservation areas. These areas are in danger from wildlife poachers. This should be done to develop accurate information about the status of the affected species in nature.
4. We can anticipate an increase in the number of primates offered for sale at Java's shopping centers and department stores. If this is not controlled, the future of primate conservation in nature will be seriously affected.
5. It is necessary to intensify education of government and army officials who are fond of keeping endangered and protected primates. This campaign should be nationwide.
6. It is necessary to conduct an intensive survey of the wild slow loris population.

Freedom for 17 confiscated Green Peofowls

http://www.openpr.com/news/46312/FREEDOM-FOR-17-CONFISCATED-GREEN-PEAFOWLS.html

Green peafowls have beautiful plumage and are much sought after by traders and collectors. The confiscated green peafowls have been looked after at ProFauna’s wildlife rescue center for four months. Previously the birds were under the custody of a wildlife rescue centre in Yogyakarta, Central Java. They were sent to ProFauna’s wildlife rescue center in order to be released into the wild.

The magnificent birds were seized from some animal markets and residences in Java by the forestry authorities. Peafowl are protected birds and often illegally sold for IDR 200,000 or about US$ 22 in the animal markets in Ngawi, East Java, Pramuka market in Jakarta.

ProFauna Indonesia’s chairman, Rosek Nursahid said, “The best home for wildlife is in the wild. Giving wildlife, including the peafowls, their freedom back is ProFauna’s first priority”.

The green peafowls are to be released in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park because it used to be the natural habitat of the green peafowls’ in the 1970’s and the species are now facing local extinction in the area. It is hoped that the green peafowls reintroduction would enrich biodiversity in the national park.

The illegal wildlife trade is rampant in Medan city, North Sumatera

http://www.1888pressrelease.com/indonesia-a-forestry-department-officer-also-a-wildlife-tra-pr-kz8kr7056.html

It was recorded that around 10,000 wild species endemic to Sumatera Island were poached to supply the domestic and international illegal wildlife trade in 2007.

The hub is in Medan, at Bintang animal market. Many protected wildlife such as eagles, cockatoos, slow lorises, gibbons, mitered-leaf monkeys, sun bears and others are sold freely. Each animal could fetch between IDR 100,000 (US$ 11) to IDR 1,500,000 (US$ 160).

Some traders in the market also supply other traders in Pramuka market Jakarta, the largest wildlife black market in Indonesia. Every two weeks, wildlife traffickers in Bintang market smuggle about 300 animals to Jakarta through Polonia airport in Medan.

Medan is also an exit point of wildlife smuggling to Singapore and Malaysia, through the ports of Belawan and Tanjung Balai in Medan, Kuala Tungkal in Jambi, and Batam, Riau.

Investigations have uncovered a corrupt government officer from the Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) of the Forestry Department, who is involved in the wildlife trafficking between Medan - Jakarta. The officer employs two key methods to illegally aid the poachers. He has been issuing false licences for Wild Plant and Animal Transportation, declaring that the consignments which contained protected animals, as unprotected species. He also overlooks poachers smuggling protected species in specially constructed hidden bottom drawers of carrying crates, which transport the CITES unprotected common song birds that can be transported freely.

The smuggling through Polonia airport in Medan usually takes place in the evening when security
is slack. ProFauna has successfully filmed the process undercover.

The corrupt officer’s involvement in wildlife trafficking mars the department’s commitment to stop crime against wildlife.

According to the 1990 wildlife law regarding Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservations, trading in protected species is prohibited. Offenders will receive up to a 5 year jail sentence and up to IDR 100 millions (US$ 11,000) in fine. Asep R. Purnama, ProFauna’s campaigns officer, stated, “The Forestry Department and the Police must conduct a confiscation operation in Bintang market, Medan.”

ProFauna also demands that the Forestry Department and the Police make an example of the corrupt officer and prosecute him to the full extent of the law. Illegal wildlife trade is a cruel crime, that must not go unpunished.

Hunting for the Market in West Kalimantan

http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/20/theme/20T3.html

Hunting especially for the market is infrequent. In a year-long study of the hunting patterns in an Iban longhouse, I recorded only one instance of a hunter taking pig meat to the nearby market town, and that was because he had killed two pigs at the same time. He divided the first with the other community members as is required by local custom (Wadley, Colfer, and Hood 1997). However, there are other cases of market hunting beyond this study. In a good example of market awareness, an Iban man from another longhouse caught a deer alive in a trap. Rather than kill the animal outright and then try to sell the meat, he went to the nearby logging camp and enlisted the help of a Muslim qualified to slaughter the animal in the ritually appropriate manner. The meat then fetched a higher price among local Muslims than it would have among local Christian Dayaks.

Iban hunters have long been aware of the market for animal parts other than meat. In the past, men journeyed to the interior of Borneo in search of valuable forest products and to hunt Sumatran rhinoceros for their horns. The horns would eventually end up in Chinese herbal medicines. Today the rhino is virtually extinct (Caldecott 1988), but other animals have taken their place in the market. The Iban know Chinese merchants (mainly across the international border in Sarawak, Malaysia) will pay good prices for certain animal parts, and they know those parts are most often used in Chinese medicines. For example, a potion made from the foetuses of pregnant deer (including barking deer and mousedeer) is supposed to help women in childbirth. (However, I have seen hunters discard such foetuses during butchering because of the prohibitive distance to potential buyers.)

Other medicines are made from pangolin (scaly anteater) scales (for back pain), deer forelegs and antlers (for children to become strong and for long life respectively), and python faeces (for stamina). An ancient animal product is the bezoar stone found in the gall bladders of bears, porcupines and certain monkeys. It is used as a medicine against various ailments, an antidote against poisons, and supernatural protection against evil spirits. (Archaeologists found one such stone weighing 433 grams and ringed with gold in a 1715 Spanish shipwreck off the Florida coast; see http://www.melfisher.com/artifact.html.) The gall bladder of the Malayan sun bear is prized for the gall it contains, but merchants insist that it be accompanied by the feet of the animal as assurance of its authenticity. (Bear paws are also an ingredient in medicines and soups.) Despite their knowledge of what the Chinese do with these animal parts, the Iban in this area tend not make or use those medicines themselves although urban Iban in Sarawak often do so. Non-medicinal trade in animal parts occurs as well, but to a lesser extent. In one case, two Melayu men visited a number of Iban longhouses wanting to purchase deer antlers. They apparently cut up smaller antlers and then made fake ones with numerous tines or points to sell to rich people in Pontianak.
Publicity stunt

Trade in animals captured alive is another facet of the Iban's involvement with market hunting. As with animal parts, this ranges in both profit and legality. The occasional infant macaque monkey caught accidentally in a trap or an infant palm civet captured while farming may be sold locally as pets. More tragically, hunters may shoot orangutan or gibbon mothers to capture their infants alive, although sometimes the infants are wounded or killed in the attempt. They sell captured infants to merchants across the border in Malaysia or down the river to Pontianak. Those merchants then sell the animals through various connections to Singapore, Taiwan or elsewhere. One unfortunate captive orangutan even found itself used as a publicity stunt during the recent political campaign in Indonesia (Jakarta Post 1999).

Although not strictly hunting, both subsistence and market fishing deserves some mention given the important fisheries within the nearby Danau Sentarum National Park (formerly a wildlife reserve). Most likely for centuries, native people (both Dayak and Melayu) have fished in the extensive lakes during the dry seasons when the water levels were low and the fish congregated in the remaining pools. Fishing for home consumption among the Iban continues, but has been increasingly surpassed by market fishing. Melayu fishermen derive most of their incomes from selling dried and smoked fish within Indonesia, and a small number of Iban and other Dayak merchants have grown comparatively wealthy from selling fish and turtles across the border to Malaysia. In one transaction I witnessed, a local merchant bought 111 large hard-shelled lake turtles and nine large soft-shelled turtles from some Iban men. All were alive but would eventually be killed and eaten; they were mainly sold to other Iban without access to the lakes, but could fetch five times the local price if sold alive in Sarawak.

One consequence of market hunting and fishing has been an apparent decline in game and fish populations. Local prices for fish have risen, and fish are increasingly unavailable in local markets, having been sent elsewhere for sale. The Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus), a large ornamental fish valued by Chinese, is close to local extinction as a result of over-fishing. Both game and 'medicinally-important' animals face habitat disruption from logging, oil palm plantations (with one project slated at 47,000 hectares), and agriculture as the human population grows. The expanding road network cuts off breeding populations of gibbons and orangutans and provides hunters with easier access to game (Wadley, Colfer, and Hood 1997; Caldecott 1988). The continuing economic downturn may also mean more market hunting as local men, who would be otherwise employed in Malaysia or Indonesia, seek avenues to earn much needed cash. *

Taste for the exotic makes orang-utans a target for the poachers

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article552037.ece

A vogue for keeping the animals in private zoos has created a market for poachers who capture hundreds in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra for discreet sale in backstreet animal bazaars.

Buying and selling orang-utans as pets is illegal but the law is rarely enforced and few who are caught with the animals are fined, let alone jailed for five years as the law allows. The WWF conservation group found hundreds of orang-utans and gibbons for sale in bird and animal markets, known as pasar burung, in 22 Indonesian cities, and estimated that as many as 1,000 orang-utans are poached in the wild annually for sale. Also taken are endangered monkeys such as kloss and Bornean-white bearded gibbons.

In Sumatra and Borneo there are 30,000 to 40,000 orang-utans left, suffering severe pressure from illegal loggers who are destroying their habitat at a terrifying rate and hunters who sell their dried meat as an aphrodisiac to Chinese markets.

With the jungles of Borneo disappearing four times as fast as forests in the Amazon, some conservationists fear that the apes could soon disappear with Asia’s last great rainforest.
Related Links

* Why did the elephant lose his tusks? To beat the poachers

* Third World caught up in tiger traffic

* Poachers wipe out tigers from their forest sanctuary

In the extravagent homes of the notoriously corrupt elite in the capital, Jakarta, however, there are believed to be more and more orang-utans, whose Malay name means Old Man of the Forest. Uyung Chairul, who campaigns to save the animals, said their price had quadrupled in the past three years to 12 million rupiah (£700). The highest prices are paid for infants whose parents may have been slaughtered.

Mr Chairul said: “The sort of people who keep these animals are those who like to show off their wealth, and that they are above the law. Keeping an illegal animal on display is one way to do that. An orang-utan in a garden cage is an appealing status symbol.”

Orang-utans are rarely seen in bird markets but are usually shown on request to potential buyers. Few are exported because of the risk of being caught and prosecuted by foreign authorities, but within Indonesia poachers, smugglers and purchasers enjoy virtual impunity. The WWF has urged the Government to do more to stop the trade, complaining that judges do not consider it a serious offence.

Poached orang-utans are sometimes displayed by zoos in South-East Asia. Safari World in Bangkok had 115 seized in November 2003. They were thought to be from Indonesia, and Jakarta has sought their repatriation repeatedly.

Protected animals smuggled into Germny,Kuwait and Korea

http://www.profauna-uk.org/news/2006/exposed.html

During a recent investigation, ProFauna exposed that many threatened and endangered species are still being smuggled out of Indonesia, some ending up in Germany. The most popular species are exotic parrots such as the Papuan black capped lorys (Lorius lory), yellow (Cacatua galerita) and sulphur crested (Cacatua sulphurea) cockatoos and various species of eclectus, beautiful brightly coloured parrots which are native to Indonesia. Many are listed in Appendix 1 of CITES, as globally threatened and protected species.

There is a current EU ban on importation of birds. The H5N1 avian flu, which affects mostly poultry in Asia, has now reached Turkey. However demands from international enthusiasts for exotic birds or wild specimens continues. Dealers denied that the trade in illegal wild birds is a health hazard. Many Indonesian wild animals are now endangered, some are facing extinction. The primary cause is habitat loss due to deforestation, supplying global hardwood demands, land clearing for agro business and mining, but hundreds of thousands animals are also trapped each year to supply illegal exotic pet markets, for human consumptions or for international wild specimen collectors.

ProFauna’s investigator penetrated the criminal network of the illegal wildlife trade and uncovered that traders from Pramuka bird market in Jakarta construct special secret bottom compartments in each animal crate to smuggle protected exotic birds. To the untrained eye, the crate seemingly only contains imported dogs, reptiles or monkeys, but under the false flooring, live exotic birds are well hidden.

In a crate enough to contain one Doberman, up to 25 black headed Papuan lorys or cockatoos can be jammed together and smuggled in a hidden bottom drawer. The crate is well padded inside. Birds are confined in this tight space and their beaks are taped shut to prevent them from making any sound on the long flights they will undergo; they are deprived of water and food during their long journey. “It is an outrage to see how cruel the trade is and how much the animals suffer!,” said one investigator. “It’s no surprise to see that 40% die before reaching the markets”.

Animals receive injury when they were trapped and endure tortuous journey from the forest to small towns and ports, before being smuggled to Jakarta then to other countries. The conditions where they are kept are appallingly cramped and dirty. Animals are treated inhumanely with no understanding about their welfare or basic needs.

Traders in Pramuka bird market smuggle protected species regularly to Kuwait and South Korea. They even use monkeys as camouflage to smuggle lorys (parrots) to Germany. For shipments to Korea they use dogs to disguise the birds. It is understood that Indonesian customs and airport authorities at Sukarno-Hatta International airport were bribed by the traders to allow the cargo to be loaded up onto the aircrafts. Airport authorities at the receiving countries similarly “cooperate” with the smugglers of that countries.

To avoid detection dealers keep all sorts of endangered and rare species at various locations, ranging from orang utans to Papuan birds of paradise. Once they trust the potential buyers, they will show their collection. A pair of live male and female Cendrawasih, Papuan bird of paradise (paradisaea minor) and a pair of Wilson’s bird of paradise (Cicinnurus respublica) were amongst many protected parrots shown to the investigators, who posed as serious overseas buyers. These species are becoming very difficult to find in the wild, because of excessive poaching. Many birds of paradise are killed and sold as taxidermic mounted displays.

Thousands of poached species are also imported each year by dealers in Singapore, Taiwan, Pakistan, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Russia and Japan. Illegal wildlife traders in some importing countries hold the stock temporarily for re-export to other European countries or the USA using new documents changing the origin of these birds as allegedly captive born and bred in their own countries. Currently there is no way to prove if such animals are captive bred or caught in the wild.

Indonesia is one of the world richest countries in biodiversity and has many species of unique wild animals, including lorys, cockatoos, eclectus, orangutans, gibbons, Sumatran tigers, sun bears, all of which are highly sought after by international illegal collectors and enthusiasts. The country is now experiencing an environmental and conservation crisis in preserving the threatened and critically endangered species.

Trade in Endangered Species Thrives on Fringe of Animal Markets

http://forests.org/archive/asia/tradthri.htm

Indonesian banknotes proudly sport images of the orang-utan, the Cenderawasih bird of paradise and the Komodo dragon, three of the nation's 546 protected species. Ironically, it is the ailing rupiah that is driving illegal trade in those very creatures. "All over Indonesia we have messages the trade is increasing. With the economic crisis, people are taking risks and going for whatever can bring them in some money," said Willy Smits, who heads a Department of Forestry scheme to protect orang-utan and stop illegal wildlife trade. Mr Smits said although most smuggling was done by boat between Indonesia's myriad islands, some networks were more elaborate. One case of animal smuggling involved people in six different countries, a ring that extended to Europe and on to the US, he said. Customs officers at Jakarta airport recently foiled a bid to smuggle US$60,000 (HK$464,000) worth of cobras to China. Another international ring involves rare birds being smuggled from Sumatra to Singapore. Demand in Asia for exotic dishes such as monkey brains and shark's fin, and for medicine from tiger parts, is also driving the trade from cash-strapped Indonesia. Trade in baby orang-utan and loss of jungle habitat threatens the future of the population, estimated at only 25,000 on Borneo and Sumatra. "There is a significant probability that if these orang-utan populations continue to become fragmented and isolated, they may not survive in the long term," said Carey Yeager, of the Worldwide Fund for Nature. Ms Yeager and other environmentalists are up against poor farmers who, after years of drought, are now poaching live animals for their own survival. Mr Smits, who also co-ordinates anti-poaching activities on the outer islands, says he has implicated senior military officials in the illegal trade. One helicopter raid on an army camp in Kalimantan last year freed a number of caged orangutan. A senior military official in Way Kambas, south Sumatra, was recently arrested for hunting tigers and selling their skins at five million rupiah (HK$4,500) each. Tigers are appearing for sale in the markets of north Sumatra. Problems with Indonesia's justice system means prosecution is not always inevitable for traders caught red-handed.

Trade of Protected Wild Animals is a crime

http://www.profauna.org/trade-of-protected-wildanimals-is-a-Crime.html

Under legislation no. 51990 (article 21) of Conservation of Nature Resources and its Ecosystem, it is forbidden to own or trade in wild animals. Any person who violates or breaks the law can be sentenced up to 5 years imprisonment and/or fined up to Indonesian Rupiah 100 Million maximum (article 40). It is clear that trading in protected wild animals is a crime.

In the last five years, efforts to uphold laws protecting wild species are improving. However, they are not fully enforced. Some convicted wildlife traders in the bird markets have only been given light sentences. It is difficult to combat wildlife trade when the law agencies which are supposed to protect wildlife often become illegally involved in this multi billion Rupiah trade. The police and the Forestry Department must take this matter seriously to combat the mafia network of illegal wildlife traders in order to curb it successfully.

For the last ten years, ProFauna Indonesia has been conducting intensive investigations and data gathering about the wildlife trade throughout Indonesia, which are supported by recorded evidence in the form of undercover film footages. This represents the facts on the illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia:

Javan Langurs (Trachypithecus auratus)
At least 2500 Javan langurs (Trachypithecus auratus) are hunted and trapped each year to be exploited commercially and or for use as bush meat. One of the most important trade locations is along the roadside of Saradan - Ngawi, East Java. The protected Javan langurs are traded openly and half of them are dyed or painted red or yellow to attract customers.

The Javan langurs are also actively traded at the following so-called “bird markets” at Jalan Pramuka in Jakarta and at Jalan Bratang and Kupang in Surabaya, Sukahaji in Bandung and Ngasem in Yogjakarta. Each primate is sold for Rp 150,000 to Rp 250,000. Often the orphaned babies are sold in front of shopping malls such as at Bandung Indah Plaza. Javan langurs are also traded as stuffed specimens.

In Banyuwangi (a city in East Java) Javan langurs are hunted for their meat. Most people believe that the meat can cure asthma and it is also consumed during drinking parties. The Javan langurs are trapped from the areas of Merubetiri, Alas Purwo, and Baluran National Park. Some of the meat is also shipped to Bali.

Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang)
The slow loris is one of the favourite primates among the wild species traded in Indonesia. It is cute, docile and can be easily tamed which attracts buyers to this nocturnal animal. Slow lorises are much traded at Pramuka in Jakarta, Sukahaji in Bandung, Kupang in Surabaya and Karimata in Semarang bird-markets. Each loris is sold for about Rp 150,000 - Rp 300,000. They are also traded at some shopping malls such as in Bandung Indah Plaza and Tunjungan Plaza Surabaya.

§ In January 2003, a Kuwaiti citizen was arrested at Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta, attempting to smuggle 91 slow loris to Kuwait. Unfortunately the prosecution of this case has faded away. It is suspected that this person also attempted to smuggle some gibbons and various birds.

Prior to 2000, slow lorises were mostly trapped in the forest of Sukabumi, West Java. However, they are becoming difficult to find nowadays and the hunters are now importing trapped loris from Sumatera and Kalimantan to meet the market demand in Java. ProFauna has discovered during this investigation that approximately 5000 slow loris from Sumatera have been smuggled to Java through Lampung (South Sumatera).

In Bali, slow lorises are sold as stuffed specimens or in the form of skeletons. Some people in Bali believe that slow loris’ skin can ward off danger or evil from the wearers. Often it is worn as amulet.

Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)
Each year, about 1000 orangutans from Kalimantan are smuggled to Java and abroad. From Kalimantan, orangutans are also smuggled via passenger ferries or other vessels. However, most smuggling is through harbors of Surabaya and Semarang.

In the “bird markets” of Java, orangutans are sold for Rp 3 - 5 Million each. The younger the orangutan, the more expensive the price will be. In the international black market, an orangutan can fetch US$ 45,000. 95% trapped and traded orangutans are adolescent.

Orangutans are smuggled abroad by air from Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta and from Menado (Sulawesi). They are also shipped out by sea from Medan in North Sumatera. Orangutans are also smuggled to Malaysia across the West Kalimantan - Malaysia borders. Baby orangutans are smuggled out abroad by airplanes and normally they are anesthetized. Baby orangutans are large enough to be easily detected by vigilant customs or airport officials.

Orangutans which have been smuggled abroad are exploited for the entertainment and circus industries or in zoos. One of the biggest scandals of smuggled Indonesian orangutans is their use for boxing entertainment at Safari World in Thailand. Hundreds of endangered orangutans are inhumanely confined at Safari World.

Gibbon (Hylobates sp)
About 3000 gibbons from Kalimantan and Sumatera are trapped from the forest and traded as exotic pets. Although there is a law protecting all species of gibbons, the trade of this ape still continues and takes place at many bird markets. Gibbons of many species, including the rare dwarf gibbons (Hylobates clossi) from Mentawai, West Sumatera, can be found at Barito and Pramuka “bird” markets in Jakarta.

Javan gibbons are endemic to Java and are traded at Sukahaji “bird” markets in Bandung and at Pramuka in Jakarta. The rare gibbons were trapped from some areas including from the national parks in West Java. In Indonesian domestic markets, a gibbon can fetch Rupiah 1 - 3 Million.
 

Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)

From their investigation in 1999, ProFauna revealed that about 27,000 green turtles were traded and slaughtered in Tanjung Benoa, Bali. Marine turtles were being poached from beyond Bali waters such as Flores, Maluku, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Java. The turtles were killed for their meat and used for satays (skewered meats on sticks). Bali is regarded as the largest turtle slaughter centre in the world.

In July 2001 the police and BKSDA (Conservation of Nature Resource Office of Forestry Dept) conducted a massive raid on the turtle trade in Bali. Some turtle traders and poachers were given jail sentences. The maximum sentence given was 1 year.

By the end of 2001 the trade in turtles in Bali had been reduced by 80%. However, the trade in Bali is still conducted illegally, despite intensive patrols by the Sea Police of Bali. The current modus operandi is by slaughtering and smuggling them in the form of meat pieces, to avoid detection.

Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata)

In 1980’s the port of Makassar in South Sulawesi was famous as the main port exporting hawksbill turtle products. In 1992 the hawksbill turtle was declared as a protected animal, thus any trade on this species or its part (include the carapace) is banned. The trade in hawksbills has declined drastically subsequent to its protection by law nationally and internationally. However, it has not ceased. Hawksbill turtle by-products are still continuously traded unimpeded in Yogyakarta and Makassar.

Presently, the main centre of hawksbills by-products and their carapace is in Kota Gede, Yogyakarta, these are in abundant and can easily be found at Malioboro Street and Kota Gede Yogyakarta. Similarly, in Poutere, Makassar and Teluk Penyu, Cilacap in Central Java.

ProFauna has produced a report about the trade of hawksbill turtles in 2003. This report was sent to the Forestry Department. However, up to this present time insufficient strict measures have been taken by the law enforcement officials in Yogyakarta, the main centre of such merchandise, to combat this illegal trade.

Lory and Cockatoo
More than 100,000 lorys, parrots and cockatoos birds are trapped each year from their origins in Papua and Maluku for commercially exploitations. Birds are smuggled to Java by airplanes and by ships, including war ships. The trade centres for lorys and cockatoos are Jalan Pramuka, in Jakarta and Pasar Turi in Surabaya. Lorys and cockatoos are then smuggled to Singapore from Jalan Pramuka. Smuggled birds are declared as captive bred using forged documents, despite the fact that all are trapped in the wild.

Lorys, parrots and cockatoos are trapped regardless of the catch quota issued by the Director General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHKA). During the investigation in 2001 - 2002, ProFauna uncovered the practice of illegal trapping of white cockatoos (Cacatua alba) in Northern Maluku (Moluccas). At that time, there was no official catch quota. However the Conservation of Nature Resource Office in Ternate, Northern Mollucas, had ironically issued catch permits and transportation/export licence for this species. The cockatoos were sent to a number of animal exporters in Jakarta.

47% of lorys, parrots and cockatoos traded at the bird markets are protected species. The commonly traded protected birds are black-capped lorys (Lorius lory), Tanimbar Cockatoos (Cacatua goffini), Sulphur or yellow-crested cockatoos (Cacatua sulpurea), Eclectus lorys (Eclectus roratus) and Mollucan cockatoos (Cacatua moluccensis). Each bird costs between Rp 150.000 - to Rp. 1.5 million/bird.

Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)

The trade in Malayan sun bears and its body parts continues to take place in Indonesia. In 2001 ProFauna investigated and uncovered that 64.5% of “traditional” medicine shops in Indonesia still sell medicine containing bear gall bladder. Beside the gall bladders, other body parts such as claws, paws, teeth are also traded.

The Malayan sun bear is a protected species by law. Any trade including its body parts is forbidden. However, the trade in bear body parts is rampant in cities such as Jakarta, Pontianak, Medan and Surabaya. The medicines containing bear gall bladder are mostly imported from China and range in price from Rupiah 7,000 to 300,000, depending on the “cure”.

Sumateran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
The Sumateran tiger is the last striped tiger species in Indonesia as the Balinese and the Javan tigers are now considered extinct. Despite its rapidly shrinking population in the wild, the hunt for Sumateran tigers for trade still continues in Bengkulu, Lampung and Jambi in Sumatera. Most tigers are traded in the form of stuffed specimens or skins. Tigers’ body parts such as claws, teeth, bones are highly sought after by certain consumers. A stuffed tiger costs between Rupiah 4 and 10 Million.

ProFauna uncovered in Bengkulu, Sumatra, that the buyers of tigers’ body parts are, surprisingly, government officials and entrepreneurs.

Tortoise
Every year hundreds of thousands of tortoises of different species are smuggled abroad, many to China and Hongkong. The BKSDA officials from the Forestry Department and the police have succeeded in foiling many smuggling attempts. Despite their efforts, smuggling still goes on today. The most popular species smuggled is Papuan tortoise (Carrettohelys insculpta).

Long tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis)

Long tailed macaques have yet to be protected by law. However hunting and trapping of this species for trade purpose is controlled by catch quota. For example, the catch quota for this primate in 2003 was 1500 and in 2004 was 2000. The quota is to protect the breeding females, which are not allowed to be traded at the market or for export.

From ProFauna’s findings, in some areas at least 15,000 long tailed macaques are caught from the wild for commercial exploitation. Most are taken from the natural habitat forest in Lampung, Jambi, from North Sumatera and South Sumatera. They are traded as “pets” but also for their meat. In 2001 ProFauna conducted a joint investigation with Alas Foundation and uncovered inhumane macaque slaughtering activities in Lampung for meat and some restaurants in Bandar Lampung serving monkey meat. During that period, at least 1500 macaques were slaughtered annually.

Wildlife traders sent to prison in Indonesia

http://www.iar.org.uk/news/2008/jul08.shtml

Agus Sobari pleaded guilty to selling a Leopard cat (Felis bengalensis), four slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang), two Malayan porcupines (Hystrix brachyura), and an otter civet (Cynogale bennetti) illegally. The second man – Sarwo - was convicted of trading one leopard cat, four slow lorises, and two Black-winged kites (Elanus caeruleus).

The presiding judge, Siswandriyono, warned the traders that people should earn a living in a sustainable manner and that there was no excuse for making money in a way that threatened the survival of rare and endangered species.

Rescued injured slow lorisSome of the animals were in very poor condition, particularly an injured porcupine and an adult slow loris with a damaged eye. They were handed over to the Tegal Alur government rescue centre.

Femke Den Haas of IAR was involved in the raid and said she was pleased with the traders’ sentence. She added that more raids should be undertaken in Jakarta and Surabaya "because there are still many big protected wildlife traders out there and they are trading freely in protected wildlife."

Alan Knight, CEO of International Animal Rescue, added: "This sentence sends out a strong message to illegal dealers in Indonesian wildlife that they will no longer get away with their vile trade. IAR has recently established a new rescue centre in Bogor to rehabilitate primates that have been caught from the wild and sold in the markets as pets. But the real solution to the problem lies in effective enforcement of the law against illegal wildlife trafficking and severe punishment for those who refuse to respect it.

"We will be ready and willing to support the Forestry Department and the police again in future should they need our support to catch other hardened wildlife criminals."

Efforts afoot to save orangutans from extinction

http://www.atimes.com/se-asia/BK30Ae03.html

JAKARTA - Animal rights activists are lauding a current crackdown on the illegal trade of orangutans in Indonesia, but they say authorities must now start putting offenders in jail to show that the government is really serious about protecting the endangered primates.

While a few arrests have been made in recent months, activists note that not one trader or buyer of orangutans has landed behind bars yet. This is despite Indonesia's 1990 conservation of the biodiversity and ecosystem act, which says a person keeping or trading protected species such as orangutans should be sent to jail for five years or pay a fine of 100 million rupiahs (now about US$10,000).

Just recently, authorities caught a student at a private university selling a 2-year-old orangutan for 3 million rupiahs ($319). Much fanfare also accompanied the arrest last August of a bird trader who was trying to sell a baby orangutan to an activist posing as a Western tourist.

''Selling orangutans is a crime because they are a protected and endangered species,'' says Chairul Saleh, senior project officer of World Wide Fund (WWF) Indonesia. But he adds, ''We have to set a precedent so the people will stop trading or keeping orangutans.''

Orangutans are found solely on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. In 1993, there were about 25,000 of them in Indonesia. Today, authorities say, the orangutan population has dwindled to just 12,000. The rampant illegal trade in the animals is one of the major reasons for this. Indeed, some sellers even advertise openly in the papers. In Pramuka market in East Jakarta, meanwhile, baby orangutans are being sold from 2 million to 3 million rupiahs ($212 to $319) each.

But Samedi, head of the trade and traffic wildlife control sub-directorate of the forestry ministry, says, ''The illegal trade of orangutans in Indonesia is very difficult and complicated. It is like the trade of illegal drugs. Orangutan traders in the black market are clever,'' he adds. ''When we are there, they don't sell the animals, but when we are no longer there, that is the time they sell.''

The buyers come mostly from middle-upper class families, including politicians and military officials, who cage the animals as pets. The forestry ministry has also reported that timber exporters illegally ship orangutans out of the country to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan.

''By keeping the orangutans as pets, the people think they are protecting them, but in fact they are not,'' Saleh says. ''They have a wrong idea about animal conservation.''

Activists say that the economic crisis has exacerbated the problem, with poachers increasing efforts to get their hands on baby orangutans. This almost always means killing the mothers first, say experts.

''Behind every one of those pets, you see the ghost of their mothers,'' says Kathryn Monk, a British researcher who has spent five years on the development program of the Gunung-Leuser National Park in North Sumatra.

Female orangutans mate just once every eight years. Experts say mother orangutans would rather give up their lives than one of their offspring. ''When people want to have a baby orangutan, they should kill the mother first,'' says Saleh. ''So, it means if you see a single baby orangutan being traded, one adult female orangutan has been killed.'' Experts note that adult female orangutans are found at higher densities than adult males, and are thus more likely targets of hunters.

Fortunately, activists report that the campaign against the illegal trade of orangutans is now gaining support from some celebrities like popular child singer Sherina Munaf who stars in a film focusing on the smuggling of orangutans from Indonesia to Osaka, Japan. The film, being produced by the WWF to raise public awareness on orangutan conservation, documented the journey of four orangutans smuggled to Japan through Bali and their trip back to the forest in East Kalimantan.

The four orangutans, already up for sale in a pet shop in Japan, were brought back to Indonesia last February by authorities and animal rights activists. Admits Samedi: ''Some government officials connive with wildlife smugglers to augment their salary.''

There have been cases, however, in which the government officials simply did not know that the orangutans happen to be endangered or are a protected species. This has prompted the WWF to put together a manual to help officials distinguish which animals are endangered or protected. Saleh remarks, ''The police, customs and immigration officials don't have enough knowledge about wildlife.''

But it is not just the illegal trade that is menacing the orangutans in particular. Habitat loss, mainly due to illegal logging and forest fires, has also endangered the lives of the primates. Nowadays, illegal logging outstrips legal timber production. According to a recent report by the Indonesia-UK Tropical Forest Management Program, illegal logging accounts for 32 million cubic meters of timber every year, compared with an official production of 29.5 million cubic meters. This is equivalent to 800,000 hectares of forest being illegally logged each year.

''Our forest is dying a painful death,'' says Longgena Ginting, campaign coordinator of the non-governmental Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi). ''The root of the problem is the extraordinary increase in the capacity of the national logging industry.''

For a long time now, fires of varying magnitude have been a common occurrence in the Indonesian forests. Every year, thousands of hectares are burned down by local farmers, spurred by foreign multinationals, to satisfy international demand for wood and make space for more profitable palm oil plantations and rice fields.

''Rampant forest destruction prompts many orangutans to flee from the forests and seek refuge in rehabilitation centers,'' Saleh says. For instance, there are now some 400 orangutans at the Wanariset Samboja rehabilitation center in East Kalimantan. In 1996, the center played host to just 100 orangutans.

Experts say the widespread deforestation is having a serious impact not only on the animals, but also on the local farmers as hungry orangutans go to the fields and eat their crops.

45 wild animals were given a second chance to live in the wild

Javan ebony langurs, or lutung, are classified as endangered species of primates under IUCN Red List 2004. Their population decline is due to the loss of habitat and continuous trapping. Langur’s main characteristic is the extremely long tail of about 80 cm, a small body about 55 cm and glossy black colouring, although some have deep orange in colour. Langurs live in a tight knit social group of 6 to 18 animals, normally led by a dominant male. The groups, which were released, consist of 4 family groups. All Javan ebony langurs in the rescue centre come from different sources, mostly confiscated from illegal traders and some from voluntary handovers from the individual owners. During their stay at the rescue centre, they were encouraged to form family groups. A couple of babies were born in the centre, after successful grouping occurred.

The release of the wildlife was formalised with a hand over ceromony on 11 August 2006, attended by the Head of Lumajang Recency, Dir Gen PHKA of Forestry Minister, the Chief of Police of Lumajang district, the Forestry Police and the directors of three national parks in East Java.“The reintroduction of wildlife to their natural habitat provides freedom for the animals to live in the wild to play their role in the natural ecosystem, as well as to reduce the congestion in the wildlife rescue centre” according to Iwan Kurniawan, the Manager of the Petungsewu PPS who coordinated the wildlife release. According to Iwan during July 2006, there were 262 protected wild animals living in the shelter. 48% were from a direct confiscation in East Java, 33% from trans-locations from other rescue centres, 15% from voluntary handovers and 5% born in the rescue centre.

TNBTS has been selected as it met the requirements for release of wildlife. The criteria to be fulfilled included the availability of the local edible vegetation and suitable forest for animals’ safety, no competition with the endemic wildlife and the area must have existing species distribution of the species being released. The site selected also must be of national park, free from human activities such as logging, plantation or legal hunting.

The release of the wildlife was funded by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and received scientific recommendation from the Indonesian National Science Institute (LIPI), the official scientific authority in Indonesia. In their evaluation, LIPI regarded the wildlife release, which was coordinated by ProFauna Indonesia, PPS Petungsewu and the government authority BKSDA Jatim II, as appropriate, as the langurs are an endemic wild species of Java Island.
To ensure their adaptation to the wild, a trained team would follow the animals’ movement in the wild for 3 months, recording every day’s data of the animals’ behaviour, ability to find food and water, ability to detect predators, ability to form social group and home range.

The illegal trade in Javan ebony langurs:

Lutung or Javan ebony langurs are protected under the laws of Indonesia as they are endangered and threatened with extinction. From ProFauna Indonesia’s observation, the langurs’ population in the wild in Java has declined drastically. At present langurs can be found in TNTBS, Mount Arjuna, Hyang Mountain range, National Park Alas Purwa, National Park Baluran, Sempu Island, the forest of R Soerjo and Merubetiri. The langur population of Panderman and the eastern Kawi mountains is now extinct.

Forest degradation for agriculture or plantations has seriously threatened the langurs and other animals. The deforestation has decimated the wildlife’s natural habitats, caused landslides and disrupted the natural spring water sources.

In addition to the decimation of forest in Java island, langurs are further endangered due to trapping for illegal commercial exploitation. ”In 2004, ProFauna observed there were approximately 2500 langurs traded illegally in Java” according to Rosek Nursahid, Director of ProFauna International. Many langurs are traded in the Kupang and Bratang bird markets in Surabaya, Saradan in Ngawi, Jatinegara and Pramuka bird markets in Jakarta. They are sold for Rp 150,000 - Rp 250,000 (US$18 - US$29) each.

Indonesian state’s legislation No. 5 of 1990 concerning the conservation of natural resources and ecosystems, bans the commercial exploitation of protected wild animals. Offenders will receive 5 years jail sentence and a fine of Rupiah 100 Million (US$10,500). ”Effective law enforcement against any offender in trapping or trading langurs would help to protect the Javan ebony langurs’ population” according to Rosek, who is also a founder of ProFauna Indonesia.

Help us to release more wild species into the wild !

Poachers' paradise: Indonesia's rare birds go to market

Illegally catching and selling protected wildlife is big business in Papua, the untamed eastern province of Indonesia that makes up half the island of New Guinea. Many indigenous islanders take part, especially in hunting and catching the birds. But the biggest smugglers, according to police and environmentalists, are members of Indonesia's powerful military.

ABEPURA, Indonesia — In the dim light of the Indonesian warship, forestry police commander Otis Howay could hear the rare birds calling, their bright song reverberating in the metal chambers.

He and two of his officers hurriedly searched the navy troop ship for protected tropical birds being smuggled out of Indonesia's Papua province, formerly Irian Jaya, by soldiers ending their tour of duty. They confiscated seven black-capped lories, beautiful birds of vivid red and green, but Howay is certain that there were many more.

"It was very dark on the ship," he recounted. "I heard a lot of voices of the birds, but I could not see them. The time was very short, and the ship was about to leave."

Illegally catching and selling protected wildlife is big business in Papua, the untamed eastern province of Indonesia that makes up half the island of New Guinea. Many indigenous islanders take part, especially in hunting and catching the birds. But the biggest smugglers, according to police and environmentalists, are members of Indonesia's powerful military.

"They are untouchable," said Roy Rindorindo of the World Wide Fund for Nature in Jayapura, the provincial capital. "They have their own ships and airplanes. They collect the birds, bring them back to Jakarta and sell them."

Survival threatened

Thousands of protected birds are caught or killed by poachers and smuggled out of the province each year, threatening the survival of the remote island's rarest species, officials and environmentalists say.

A lack of mammalian predators has allowed the evolution of a great variety of bird life on New Guinea, including 30 bird of paradise species, renowned for their long, colorful tail feathers.

Papua is also home to the endangered palm cockatoo; the cassowary, with sharp claws that can disembowel a human; the Victoria crowned pigeon with its majestic feather crest; the hornbill, with its huge curved beak; and the brightly colored black-capped lory, a type of parrot.

Natives have long hunted the creatures, particularly the birds of paradise, whose feathers are favored for decorating headdresses used in ritual ceremonies and headhunting raids.

Trade dates to 14th century

International trade in the birds of paradise dates to the 14th century, when their plumes adorned the headdresses of the sultans' guards at the Turkish court.

In the late 19th century, the feathers were so popular in Europe that the birds became New Guinea's most valuable resource.

Amid concern that the birds would be driven to extinction, trade in birds of paradise was banned in 1924, but hunting never has stopped.

B.G. Resubun, Howay's boss at the Natural Resources Conservation Department, said the widespread involvement of soldiers and police in the wildlife trade — something law-enforcement officials acknowledge — adds to the difficulty of cracking down.

"We are very scared, because these people intimidate us," Resubun said. "I can't prove it, but people know that high-level people have a hobby of collecting all the endangered species."

Demand for birds is great in Indonesia. It has long been a symbol of prestige to own one, especially a lory or cockatoo, which sing or can be trained to talk.

Pet birds are most popular on the main island of Java, which is less than one-third the size of Papua but has a population of 121 million.

Bakdi Soemanto, professor of cultural sciences at the University of Gajah Mada in Yogyakarta, said some Javanese believe that birds can bring enlightenment or serve as a symbol of a person's character, much as a birth sign would. Some birds, such as the lory, are thought to ward off supernatural beings. But most of all, people like to hear them sing.

On a recent trip to the Hamadi market in Jayapura, it was easy to find protected birds for sale, dead or alive.

Souvenir shops openly sold stuffed birds of paradise for the equivalent of $25. They offered headdresses and ornaments made with bird-of-paradise tail feathers, as well as decorated eggs of the cassowary, whose leg bones are used to make knives. One shop owner offered a black-capped lory for about $55, enough to support a family here for a month.

At an open stall, a trader named Mustafa was willing to sell a sulfur-crested cockatoo for the equivalent of $65.

He acknowledged that selling it was illegal but said taking it out of the province would be easy. "You can carry it by airplane, by ship," he said. "You just arrange it with the officer in the airport."

At the Jayapura airport and the harbor, a few of the passengers were waiting to board with special luggage — small cardboard boxes with holes cut in them. Sometimes, the boxes would shake on their own.

The forestry police say that they have tried to search the market for protected birds but that every time they plan a raid, word leaks out and the creatures are hidden by the time they arrive.

"That's one of our problems," said Resubun, head of the Natural Resources Conservation Department for Papua's eastern region.

Resubun acknowledged that his agency is largely ineffective in protecting wildlife.

The Natural Resources Conservation Department has 54 officers to patrol more than half the province, he said. They share one car and one boat.

The military, whose main role in Papua is to keep the local population in check, has operated with impunity here for decades. The brief search that Howay and his men conducted on the troop ship in March is rarer than the birds they are trying to protect.

Soldiers have been known to pull their weapons on the unarmed forestry police when questioned about their activities, officials say.

Military immune to arrest

Despite widespread knowledge of military involvement in the illegal export of wildlife from the province, no soldier or officer has been arrested for capturing or smuggling protected animals.

"That is our weakness," Howay said. "We can't press charges against the military."

Papua Police Chief Made M. Pastika acknowledged that the army plays a major part in smuggling wildlife from the province. Police officers are involved too, he said.

"Most of the illegal trafficking of the birds, endangered species, is suspected (to be) done with the backing of the authorities, like police and military personnel," he said. "We are very concerned about this."

One of the main army units allegedly involved in smuggling wildlife is Kopassus, the elite force that once received training from the U.S. military. Washington severed military ties with Indonesia in 1999 after army-sponsored militias destroyed much of East Timor, but some Bush administration officials and Indonesian generals hope to resume cooperation.

Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon, the Indonesian military commander in Papua, said he has seen no evidence that soldiers or officers are involved.

He has advised his troops not to engage in the illegal wildlife trade, he said, and has authorized searches of their belongings.

Simbolon has also invited representatives of the World Wide Fund for Nature to speak to the troops about protected wildlife.

"There are indeed some accusations that the soldiers take them out," the general said. "If that is true, then we have to take care of it internally, and that is what we are doing at the moment."

The easiest targets

Hunters catch most birds by stringing nets between the trees, but the birds of paradise are among the hardest to nab. Usually, hunters simply shoot them and stuff them. The males' spectacular mating displays, occurring regularly in the mornings and evenings, make them an easy target.

In January, one forest police officer, Elsama Anton Wakum, 30, confiscated five stuffed birds of paradise from a smuggler who allegedly was delivering them from one police officer to another.

Two nights later, Wakum was struck in the head with a piece of wood. His body was found by the road in the morning. The birds are missing. Police are investigating the slaying.

Even when the conservation department manages to seize live birds, they are not always better off. Releasing a creature back into the wild requires a pile of paperwork and signatures all the way up to the provincial governor.

Instead of being set free, many of the confiscated birds spend the rest of their lives at a house in the town of Sentani, near the Jayapura airport. One aging palm cockatoo is chained up in the yard. A large hornbill has become a pet of the local children, who delight in carrying it around. Sulfur-crested cockatoos are kept in a room with windows too dirty to see out. Three Victoria crowned pigeons — inveterate pacers — are kept in a narrow wooden cage with barely enough room to turn around.

Down the road, Dr. John Manangsang has set up an alternative bird sanctuary.

It began when a soldier brought him a bird of paradise he had shot in the wing.

Manangsang, a general practitioner, healed the bird and bought it. Word spread, and soon he had acquired 40 birds of paradise, sea eagles, hornbills and cockatoos, many of them wounded or ailing.

He built an aviary for the birds of paradise and allowed the public to come see them. He let his three crowned pigeons wander freely in an outdoor enclosure.

Manangsang said he was trying to protect the birds and keep them from being smuggled out of Papua, but the conservation department prosecuted him for possessing protected wildlife.

The doctor lost in a lower court but appealed to the Supreme Court and won. The conservation department issued him a license that allows him to keep the birds.

Now he dreams of building a facility where he can breed his birds of paradise and release their offspring into the wild.

"I want to educate people to love nature so that when we release the birds, people will not kill them," he said.

A thwarted inspection

Before inspecting the warship in March, Howay notified the navy that he and his officers would come to search the soldiers' possessions for illegal wildlife as the troops boarded. About 800 troops were scheduled to depart that day aboard the Teluk Penyu 535.

But when the officers arrived at the appointed time, the soldiers were already on board and the ship was about to leave. Howay and his men were given less than a half-hour to search the ship. One officer, who was not in uniform, was not allowed on board. Howay, 30, said he had planned to arrest any soldiers found to be smuggling wildlife but decided that it would not be wise.

"It is quite a risky thing to do," he said. "People ask me why we can't do anything about the military, but the forestry police are empty-handed while the military has weapons to scare people."