News | 18^th May 2006

Each month 40 Slow Lorises and 20 Leopard Cats are being illegally traded in Palembang, Sumatra

Contents

• Each month 40 Slow Lorises and 20 Leopard Cats are being illegally traded in Palembang, Sumatra
• For further information, please contact
• ProFauna Team Thanks to

The illegal trade of wild animals, which are protected under the law, still takes place in various parts of Sumatra. Members of ProFauna Indonesia in Bengkulu who conducted surveys to monitor the situation for the last two years uncovered that each month approximately 20 Leopard Cats (Felis bengalensis) and 40 coucangs or slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang) are traded freely in Pasar Hilir, Palembang, Sumatra. The animals are mostly trapped from the wild from Bengkulu and Jambi. They are smuggled out from Palembang to Jakarta via Lampung.

Most slow lorises arrive in Jakarta without their canine teeth. These sensitive teeth are cruelly extracted by the traders, without anaesthesia, leaving the animals deeply traumatized and weak.

The illegal trade of wildlife in Bengkulu are not only restricted to slow lorises or coucangs; Sumatran Tiger (Phantera tigriss sumatrae), Sun bears (Helarctus malayanus), Siamangs (Hylobates syndactilus), Leopard cats (Felis bengalensis), Ant eaters or pangolins (Manis javanicus) are included in the unlawful trafficking.

On 27 April 2006, the local police and the Department of Forestry uncovered the syndicate of illegal trade in Sumatran tigers in Rejang Lebong, Bengkulu, Sumatra. During the raid, an illegal wildlife trader was caught in possession of an 86 cm tiger skin and 5 kg tiger bones. He intended to sell the tiger skin and bone to dealers in South Sumatra. Tiger skins such as these could fetch Rupiah 5 - 10 Million (US$ 500 - $1000).

The illegal wildlife trading of animals such as the Sumatran tiger continue because of the murky involvement of some police, Indonesian National Army (TNI) officers and even some local MPs. In 2003, some police officers and MPs from North Bengkulu were caught for being involved in the Sumatran tiger trade. Although the case has reached the courts, it was mysteriously “discontinued” without any clear explanation.

ProFauna members in Bengkulu reported a high volume of illegal ownership of siamangs, a protected species of gibbon, a largest of the lesser apes (Hylobates syndactylus). There are known 45 siamangs illegally kept as domestic animals in Bengkulu town. 26% of the owners are government civil servants, 22% are police or army officers, the rest are civilians. Most siamangs in captivity are kept in extremely poor condition without welfare.

Siamangs travel in the forest by swinging from branches (brachiation) and are arboreal apes. They rarely descend on the forest floor. They have the closest social ties within the family unit. Normally male and female bond together with 2 or 3 off springs. Siamangs are renowned for their “singing” ability, which can be heard from 3 miles.

According to the Indonesian Legislation no. 5 of 1990 on Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystem, all trades and the keeping of protected species is forbidden. Persons convicted of such crime should receive 5 years jail sentence and a monetary fine of Rp. 100 Million (US$11,000). Sadly, this law is not effective enough to protect the Indonesian wild animals, which are severely threatened with extinction due to a booming illegal wildlife trade.

ProFauna Indonesia continues to encourage the police and the Department of Forestry to enforce the law and take action against the illegal dealers of wildlife. In view of the decimation of their natural habitat from illegal logging, mining and agriculture business of plantation, the population of wild species has drastically declined. Such trade poses a serious threat to the conservation of the remaining wildlife because 100% of the animals traded are caught from the wild.

For further information, please contact:

Drh. Luki Kusuma Wardhani
Phone: +62 815 5509748
email: infoisaw@telkom.net