Bengkulu BKSDA Seizes 1,689 Birds Being Transported Without Documents

Bandarlampung (ANTARA) – The Bengkulu Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) has seized 1,689 birds being transported without the required documents at Bakauheni Port in South Lampung.

The 16 boxes of birds were found early on Saturday aboard a white bus operated by Sinar Jaya, registration number B 7133 TGE, travelling from Palembang to Yogyakarta, Bengkulu BKSDA head Agung Nugroho said in Bandarlampung on Saturday.

Of the total, 57 birds were from seven protected species: 22 greater green leafbirds, eight Sumatran leafbirds, 19 blue-winged leafbirds, one Sumatran laughingthrush, five racket-tailed drongos, one large green leafbird and one blue-crowned hanging parrot.

The remaining 1,632 birds belonged to 25 species that are not protected, he said.

The driver and the wildlife were taken to the Bakauheni Port Police Sector for further questioning and species identification. The birds lacked the required documents: an animal health certificate from their place of origin and a domestic transport permit for plants and wildlife (SATS-DN), Nugroho said.

The seized birds are planned for release in the Wan Abdul Rachman Grand Forest Park in Bandarlampung, subject to the results of health checks, species identification, assessment of their condition and confirmation that the habitat is suitable, he said.

Marison Guciano, executive director of FLIGHT, praised the seizure by Bengkulu BKSDA and other agencies. Songbirds are among the wildlife most frequently smuggled and illegally traded from Sumatra to Java, he said.

“More than 95 per cent of wildlife seizures at Bakauheni Port, Lampung, involve songbirds,” he said.

Over the past eight years, FLIGHT data show that more than 200,000 individual Sumatran songbirds have been rescued from attempted illegal trade and smuggling to Java, the largest market for illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia, he said.

Populations of various Sumatran songbird species are continuing to decline because of large-scale trade, he said, adding that monitoring at ports must be strengthened.