Press Release | 06 February 2008

Quick Response Unit Seizes 15 Protected Wildlife Species in Jatinegara Market, Jakarta

Contents

• Quick Response Unit Seizes 15 Protected Wildlife Species in Jatinegara Market
• For further information, please contact

 

Elang (Indonesian word for Eagle) Brigade of the Quick Response Unit, locally known as SPORC, has made a significant progress since its creation last three year by conducting a confiscation operation in Jatinegara animal market, Jakarta, Indonesia Sunday 3rd February 2008. The arrest was in collaboration with the teams of the Monitoring Coordinator of Civil Investigator, the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Human and Natural Resources, and the Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police, with the technical assistances of the Institute of Animal Advocacy (LASA) and the International Animal Rescue (IAR).

ProFauna Indonesia has monitored the Jatinegara market and found out that many protected species are for sale freely instead of being sold in more discreet like in Pramuka market, Jakarta. Therefore, the SPORC team which consists of qualified rangers raided the market and recovered 15 protected wildlife species:

• two Leopard cats (Felis bengalensis);
• eight slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang);
• two Malayan porcupines (Hystrix brachyuran);
• one otter civet (Cynogale bennetti);
• and two Black-winged cats (Elanus caeruleus).

Some of them were in bad conditions, an injured porcupine and an adult slow loris with right-eye defect. The seizure was handed over to the Animal Rescue Centre Tegal Alur.

Two traders, Agus Sobari and Sarwo have been arrested. Both the SPORC and the Monitoring Coordinator of Civil Investigator, supervised by the Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police, are investigating the crime. Irma Hermawati, the executive director of LASA stated,”The traders violate the 1990 law concerning the Natural Resources ad the Ecosystem and are liable to maximum five-year prison term and pay a maximum 100 million rupiah-fine”.

SPORC coordinator, Joko Prihatno congratulated his team success and hoped,”The law enforcement operations shall continue to have a deterrent effect against the wildlife crime”. Femke Den Haas, IAR coordinator, agrees with Prihatno’s remark,”We need more operations because many big protected wildlife traders are out there”.

Rosek Nursahid, ProFauna Indonesia chairman added, “The seizure like in Jatinegara market should be conducted in other animal markets in the cities of Jakarta and Surabaya.” Pramuka market in Jakarta and some animal markets in Surabaya are still selling many protected wildlife freely. Endangered wildlife species currently receive a high level protection provided under the 1990 wildlife law.

If you have any comment or question, please do not hesitate to contact our officer below:

For further information, please contact:

Butet A. Sitohang, International Communication Officer
Phone: +62 813 33899741
email: international@profauna.org