Activists protest wild animal trade
Dewi Santoso and Theresia Sufa The Jakarta Post Jakarta/Bogor
Around 70 activists from the organization Pro Fauna Indonesia (Indonesian Wildlife Support) demonstrated on Wednesday at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, unfurling a five meter by three meter banner that read "Stop trade in endangered animals -- wildlife belongs to nature."
"We are holding this demonstration because we are concerned at the increase in wild animal hunting in Indonesia," said Pro Fauna Jakarta coordinator Hardi Baktiantoro.
He added that compared with other countries, Indonesia topped the list in wild animal hunting and trading.
"That is only the legal activities; we haven't included illegal hunting and trading."
Pro Fauna demanded the Ministry of Forestry make genuine moves to curb the trade in endangered species and called on the public to stop buying them.
The organization discovered that in 2003 interisland trade in endangered species was common.
Every week, thousands of wild animals such as siamang (Hylobates syndactilus), owa (Hylobates sp), koukang (Nycicebus coucang) and eagles are taken to the bird market at Jl. Pramuka, East Jakarta, by bus from Lampung. The animals are then distributed from Jakarta, Semarang and Surabaya to other areas.
According to Hardi, every month 10 to 20 orangutans were smuggled from Kalimantan to Semarang seaport and later distributed to Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Bali.
A member of Pro Fauna in Gorontalo, Sulawesi, reported that the capture of babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa) was widespread, already occurring in Nani Wartabone Bogani National Park, with an estimated 10 babirusa being caught every week and sold in Manado, North Sulawesi.
"If the government does not take action, within five to 10 years, Indonesia will lose its endangered animals," said Hardi.
So far, illegal animal traders only get lenient sentence from the court although they are proven guilty.
In the recent trial at the Bogor District Court on Monday, defendant Rudi Hermawan, 27, was only sentenced to six months' jail although he was found guilty of rare animal trading, which violated Law No. 5/1990 on natural resources and biodiversity conservation.
The charges carry a punishment of a maximum of five years' jail and a Rp 100 million (US$11,765) fine.
The prosecutors had demanded 10 months' jail.
The defendant was arrested in a joint action by the Bogor Forest Police and East Bogor Police on Nov. 5, 2003, outside the Trio restaurant on Jl. Raya Pajajaran, Bogor, at about 9:30 p.m. when he tried to sell a dead Sumatran tiger for Rp 12 million to Yayat Syarif Hidayat.
Rudi claimed he bought it from another man, Amir, who is still at large, for Rp 6.5 million. Amir remains on the Bogor Police's wanted list.