Vendors hail drive against bird smuggling<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Over 250 Pramuka Bird Market vendors responded
\npositively Sunday to the government's drive to raise the public's
\nawareness of the 1990 ruling on the smuggling of endangered
\nspecies.<\/p>\n
\"The government needs to improve its, and the public's,
\nawareness of the illegal trade in animals,\" said Sutarno, a
\nPramuka market vendor.<\/p>\n
\"I believe almost all the traders here support the campaign,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Sutarno said unlicensed animal vendors outside the market
\nearned up to Rp 500,000 (US$206) for a single red lory parrot.<\/p>\n
\"Endangered birds, such as the Rothschild starling, hornbills
\nor the Nias talking myna, are often bought by buyers who
\ndiscreetly approach sellers. Because sellers only display their
\nrare birds when they are sure no police are around.\"<\/p>\n
He said the increasing number of unlicensed vendors had cut
\nthe market's bird sellers' incomes.<\/p>\n
\"Sometimes we only earn Rp 25,000 a day or even nothing.\"<\/p>\n
Sutarno and another vendor, Haji Sulaiman, said the campaign
\nwould protect endangered animals and improve their income. They
\nsaid the government needed to take action against any officials
\nor individuals involved in smuggling.<\/p>\n
\"We cannot compete with people who have financial support and
\nbacking,\" they said.<\/p>\n
Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo, who launched
\nthe information campaign Sunday, said the government needed to
\nremind the public of the 1990 natural resource conservation
\nruling.<\/p>\n
It says endangered species must not be caught, wounded,
\nkilled, stored, possessed, bred, transported or traded, alive or
\ndead, without government permission.<\/p>\n
\"The Indonesian government has been criticized by
\norganizations from the United States, Britain and Australia
\nbecause of its inconsistent law enforcement,\" Djamaludin said.<\/p>\n
He said Jakarta was allegedly an international animal
\nsmuggling route.<\/p>\n
Governor Surjadi Soerdirdja said at the launch that the high
\nprices on the heads of endangered indigenous species caused the
\nbuying and selling of rare animals for status and profit.<\/p>\n
East Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma Airport and sea ports were
\noften used to smuggle animals overseas.<\/p>\n
Surjadi said the city had rescued 169 rare animals from
\nsmugglers in 1996, and another 51 between January and March this
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin called on citizens not to take protected animals
\noverseas with them without official permission. He said he
\nexpected the police to catch all syndicates and personnel
\ninvolved smuggling.<\/p>\n
\"Anyone caught smuggling could face five years in prison and a
\nRp 100 million fine,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The minister called on elementary educational institutions to
\nsupport the drive by taking their students to zoos and national
\nparks, to increase their students' awareness of loving and caring
\nfor endangered species.<\/p>\n
A Golkar faction city councilor, Amarullah Asbah, said
\ncitizens and authorities new little about which species were
\nendangered, so the ministry needed to step up its information
\ncampaign about protected animals.<\/p>\n
According to the Directorate General of Forest Protection and
\nNature Conservation, Indonesia has 218 endangered species,
\nincluding 82 rare indigenous birds.<\/p>\n
Only the breeding of protected species, with government
\npermission, is allowed under the existing law. (10)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/vendors-hail-drive-against-bird-smuggling-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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