Animal center raises new hope for conservation<\/p>\n
Bambang M and Mahmud NA, Contributor, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Large iron cages stand strongly on a plot of land measuring
\nalmost 14 square hectares in Paingan hamlet, Sendangsari,
\nKulonprogo regency, some 15 kilometers to the west of Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Some are rectangular while others are dome-shaped. There are
\nalso moats surrounded by iron fences. The distinctive sounds of
\ncockatoos and gibbons are heard simultaneously.<\/p>\n
This is not a zoo, although it looks like one. This is the
\ncenter for wild life conservation (PPS) of Yogyakarta. It is here
\nthat legally protected animals, confiscated by the state or
\nvoluntarily surrendered by community members, are accommodated,
\nand \"re-educated\" before being released back into the wild.<\/p>\n
It is one of six such centers across Indonesia. The other five
\nare found in Jakarta, Sukabumi in West Java, Manado in North
\nSulawesi, Malang in East Java and Wanariset Samboja in East
\nKalimantan.<\/p>\n
\"All these centers were built in mid 2002 with financial
\nassistance from The Gibbon Foundation,\" said Sugihartono, project
\nmanager of PPS Yogyakarta. The Gibbon Foundation is a Holland-
\nbased environmental non-government organization.<\/p>\n
The establishment of these six centers gives new hope that
\nefforts may be maximized to eradicate illegal trading and
\npossession of protected animals (dead or alive) as stipulated in
\nLaw No. 5\/1990.<\/p>\n
Protected animals commonly kept as pets by people in cities
\ninclude certain species of birds, crocodiles, bears, leopards and
\nprimates. Deddy Pranowo Eryono, the owner of Ruba Graha Hotel in
\nYogyakarta, for example, is known to have kept a sapit alligator
\n(Tomistoma schlegelii) without a proper document.<\/p>\n
Even universities violate this government regulation on
\nprotected animals. UGM in Yogyakarta, for example, possesses two
\nTimorese deer (Cervus timorensis). These two and five spotted
\ndeer (Axis axis) are kept at UGM's Valley Park. Center for
\nConservation of Natural Resources (BKSDA) of Yogyakarta have
\ntwice asked UGM to process the licensing for keeping the deer but
\nto no avail so far.<\/p>\n
The university's school of veterinary medicine, which owns the
\ntwo Timorese deer, was tight-lipped about this matter. \"No
\ncomment,\" said HR Wasito, the dean of the school, apparently
\nirritated.<\/p>\n
Data compiled by the BKSDA of Yogyakarta in 1991 showed that
\nthere were over 3,000 people that own protected animals in this
\nprovince. \"Thirty percent of them have live animals while the
\nrest possess stuffed animals,\" said Sulistyo Wibowo, a staff
\nmember of the center.<\/p>\n
The figure for the entire country, however, is amazingly
\nlarge. As of 2000, according to the data from the Director
\nGeneral of Nature Protection and Conservation, there were 69,180
\nowners of protected animals. They possessed 59,022 living
\nanimals, 63,315 animals preserved in whole and 26,876 preserved
\nparts of animals. Of course, the real number is greater as not
\nall owners of such animals are registered.<\/p>\n
Rife trading and possession of protected animals (also the
\ndamaged habitat) have made Indonesia, known as one of the world's
\ncenters of biological diversity, become one of the countries with
\nthe biggest number of animals facing extinction. Records of IUCN
\n(The World Conservation Union) show that in Indonesia, 128
\nspecies of mammals, 104 birds, 19 reptiles, 60 fish and 29
\ninvertebrates face the threat of extinction.<\/p>\n
Apart from the earnestness of a few law enforcers, Sigit
\nRiyanto, lecturer of the school of law at UGM said that the
\neradication of wild animal trading and possession could not be
\ncarried out to the optimum as Law No. 5\/1990 was yet to be
\ncompleted with important supporting facilities like PPS.<\/p>\n
\"In the absence of such a center, the confiscated animals will
\nsimply die later,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Before a PPS-type facility comes into being, every time the
\ngovernment confiscates animals, it will leave these animals in
\nthe zoos or other conservation institutions. As great costs
\nresult, zoos are willing to accept only animals not yet in their
\npossession. \"Besides, zoos prefer large and exotic animals only
\nto lure visitors,\" Sugihartono said.<\/p>\n
To ensure that this problem is well addressed, the Forestry
\nMinistry issued a Decree in 1992 stipulating that protected
\nanimals owned by citizens are the legal property of the state. As
\na special place is yet to be available for these animals, these
\nowners may continue to cage these animals. In status, these
\nanimals are left by the state in the care of community members.
\nAny time the state wishes to take them back, it can do so.<\/p>\n
The period in which these protected animals were left in the
\ncare of community members spanned between June 1, 1991 up to
\nOctober 31, 1992. Unfortunately, when this period expired, the
\nstate was yet to collect these animals. Meanwhile, there is a
\ngrowing number of people who have protected animals. They can
\neasily buy the animals from markets in major cities or from the
\nplace where the animals come.<\/p>\n
\"Now that PPS has come into being, there is no reason for the
\ngovernment not to undertake confiscation of protected animals,\"
\nsaid Sugihartono, while adding that confiscation is necessary as
\na shock therapy to discourage community members from keeping
\nprotected animals. \"If confiscation continues, community members
\nwill be discouraged from taking these animals. The market demand
\nfor these animals will drop and hunting of such animals will
\nbecome rarer, as well,\" said Sugihartono.<\/p>\n
Although each PPS will accommodate every species of
\nconfiscated wild animal, some of them have their own
\nspecialization. PPS Yogyakarta, for example, will be specially
\nintended for reptiles. The center in Sukabumi for carnivores
\nwhile the one in Malang for primates. Orangutans will be kept in
\nWanariset Samboja. Two more PPS - in Jakarta and Manado - can
\ntake any wild animals.<\/p>\n
All these PPS establish operational cooperation. If an
\norangutan is confiscated in Yogyakarta, it will be left in the
\ncare of PPS Yogyakarta temporarily. Then, it will be dispatched
\nto Wanariset Samboja. Then, if a reptile is confiscated in West
\nJava, it will be kept temporarily in Sukabumi before being
\nfinally sent to Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Each PPS is completed with facilities such as a laboratory, a
\nclinic, a quarantine room and an isolation room. All animals
\ntaken to a PPS will be examined. If they are sick, they will be
\ntreated. If they cannot be cured and there is fear they will
\nspread their disease to other animals, they will be destroyed.<\/p>\n
When they are declared healthy, they will be trained again on
\nliving in the wild so that they will be ready for their original
\nhabitat.<\/p>\n
Sugihartono said that PPS Yogyakarta, built at a cost of Rp 4
\nbillion (about US$470,000), was the largest of such centers. It
\nhas a conference hall, a computer room, a library and 10
\nbedrooms.<\/p>\n
\"Aside from being a facility where protected animals are
\nsaved, a PPS is also a center of environmental information and
\neducation,\" he said. Although this PPS has been only 85 percent
\ncompleted, it is now operational and keeps some confiscated
\nanimals.<\/p>\n
The present six PPS are not enough, said Sugihartono. Ideally,
\neach province needs to have one such center.<\/p>\n
However, the presence of a PPS has given rise to criticisms.
\n\"Can these centers accept all animals confiscated by the state?
\nBesides, care must be taken to prevent a PPS being considered a
\nnew zoo,\" said Kuspriyadi, head of BKSDA of Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Other critics say that a PPS cannot solve the existing
\nproblems unless the habitat is saved first.<\/p>\n
\"Is there any assurance that the animals that are released in
\nthe wild can survive if their habitat continues to sustain
\ndamage?\" asked Triman Setyardi of Yayasan Kutilang Indonesia for
\nBird Conservation.<\/p>",
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