Rare elephants wait uncertain future<\/p>\n
P.J. Leo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Controversy has erupted over plans by the South Sumatra Tourism
\nand Cultural Office to ship five endangered wild Sumatran
\nelephants to a Japanese animal park that has a poor reputation.<\/p>\n
Under the plan, the elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus),
\nwhich were captured in the wild two years ago and are now in
\nSriwijaya zoo in Palembang, will be sent to the bear park of ASO-
\nKuma Bokujyo, Kumamoto in Japan some time this month. There, the
\nelephants, which will be on loan for a year, will perform for the
\npark's visitors.<\/p>\n
According to Alive, a non-governmental organization (NGO) in
\nJapan, the park does not belong to the government but is a
\nprivately owned park with a poor reputation.<\/p>\n
The finding was also confirmed by veterinarian Retno Sudarwati
\nof Taman Safari park in Cisarua, Bogor. In 2002, five elephants
\nfrom Taman Safari were given on loan to the park for seven
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
Retno, who was a member of a health inspection team for the
\nelephants that visited the Japanese park in 2002, said the park
\ndid not have enough space to host the elephants.<\/p>\n
\"ASO-Kuma Bokujyo is located close to a highway so the
\nelephants cannot have a 5 kilometer walk after their shows as
\nthey do in Indonesia. In winter, it's so cold that it might cause
\nhealth problems for the elephants as the room is heated only by a
\nsmall fireplace,\" Retno said.<\/p>\n
NGOs in Indonesia, namely the Indonesian Forum for the
\nEnvironment and the World Wide Fund for Nature, and in Japan, as
\nwell as wildlife protection groups like the Indonesian Wildlife
\nConservation Forum (FOKSI) are launching campaigns against the
\nplan to loan the protected animals to Japan.<\/p>\n
The latest estimates based on data from environmental groups
\nand the Ministry of Forestry show that only 3,500 Sumatra
\nelephants are left in the wild.<\/p>\n
The Japanese park was trying to secure the five elephants
\nthrough the Ministry of Forestry which then appointed Sriwijaya
\nzoo to execute the plan.<\/p>\n
A joint meeting earlier at the Ministry of Forestry attended
\nby representatives from the ministry, the Indonesian Zoos
\nAssociation, the National Institute of Sciences and other
\nagencies on Jan. 6, 2003 agreed that according to regulations,
\nthe elephants should be sent by a conservation institution
\nexperienced in dealing with elephants.<\/p>\n
Sriwijaya zoo, however, did not meet the necessary
\nrequirements. Likewise, the province's tourism board is not a
\nconservation institute.<\/p>\n
According to the Convention of International Trade in
\nEndangered Species (CITES), rare animals being used for, among
\nother things, shows, riding or dispatch abroad must be those
\noriginating from captive breeding programs which carry the Code C
\n(captive bred).<\/p>\n
But the license from the Ministry of Forestry bears the Code W
\n(caught in the wild) while the import license from the Japanese
\ngovernment applies the code C, meaning the elephant transport
\nviolates CITES.<\/p>\n
South Sumatra's natural resources conservation center head
\nDulhadi, as quoted by Kompas daily in May, said the provincial
\nadministration's plan to send the elephants did not violate CITES
\nand had been allowed by the CITES authority in Indonesia, in this
\ncase, the Ministry of Forestry.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Baidjuri Asir, head of the provincial tourism and
\ncultural office, said the plan had been approved by the Minister
\nof Forestry so nothing could prevent the program from going
\nahead.<\/p>\n
Will the South Sumatra provincial administration succeed in
\ncarrying out its plan? There remains several provisions, like the
\nrequirements for the conveyance of wildlife species by the
\nInternational Air Transport Association (IATA) which stipulates
\nthat protected species caught in the wild must not be transported
\nfor commercial purposes.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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