Illegal Wildlife Trade: Jakarta, Indonesia

By Wombat | February 25th, 2006 | No Comments

Nothing annoys or sickens me more than those parasites that trade in illegal wildlife. In a recent article ran by the Jakarta Post, it states that US9.2billion is made from illegal sales of endangered species.

Illegal wildlife trade trade running wild: NGO
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It’s long been known that animal markets in Jakarta are the place to pick up endangered animals at bargain prices to add to a personal menagerie.

While hunters may only get a few hundred thousand rupiah for catching a rare animal, organizers of the illegal wildlife trade are assured a princely sum, a non-governmental organization said Wednesday.

ProFauna Indonesia estimates Rp 9 trillion (US$9.2 billion) is made annually from illegal sales of endangered species at East Jakarta’s Pramuka bird market and Jatinegara market, and Barito market in South Jakarta.

It said the most sought-after primates were the Javan langur (trachypithecus auratus) and slow loris (nycticebus coucang), as well as the green-winged king parrot (alisterus chloropterus) and yellow striped cockatoo among birds.

“We want the government to be more serious in stopping the wildlife trade,” said the group’s conservationist, Eni Nurhayati, during a rally here Wednesday.

Although trading in the animals is prohibited under the 1990 government regulation on the natural ecosystem and the 1999 regulation on animal preservation, Eni said it was going on unchecked.

“They are not making any effort to stand up against the illegal animal trade.”

The group, established in 1994 in Malang, East Java, campaigns for the protection of wild animals, investigates trade in wild-caught animals throughout the country and conducts animal rescues.

She claimed the bird markets were covers for wide-scale trading in other endangered animals, with reptiles and primates, including orangutans, also on sale. The traders, she said, can even take care of sending rare animals to a foreign destination, where they can earn even greater rewards.

“Pramuka market is the biggest bird market in Indonesia. Wildlife traders at the market are casual about exporting animals overseas,” Eni said.

“One orangutan, for example, is priced from Rp 3 million to Rp 5 million in local markets, but in a foreign market it could soar to $45,000.”

The Jakarta market agency overseeing traditional markets, including the bird markets, denied rare wildlife was up for sale, although it admitted it may have happened in the past or sales were conducted in secret at other locations.

Agency spokesman Nurman Adhi said regular inspections were held in 2005 to ensure there were no endangered species among the animals for sale.

“These traders have networks. It is possible that they do the transactions somewhere else, but I can assure you no illegal wildlife trading takes place in Pramuka market or any other bird markets managed by our agency,” he said.

The Forestry Ministry’s director of biodiversity conservation, Adi Susmianto, said there were sales of protected species, but he could not confirm the total amount from illegal sales in 2005.

The wildlife trade is thriving, especially for export, because people who formerly dealt in illegal logging are looking for another income source.

Adi said Malaysia and the Philippines were among the illegal importers of Indonesian animals.

“There is no particular demand for a certain type of animal from these countries. Everything sells. It’s easy to smuggle the animals there, a mere small boat is enough,” he said.

The ministry, he added, had taken action to curb the illegal trade, including signing an MoU with the international group TRAFFIC in 2004 to join forces in wildlife protection.