Protected animals smuggling reaches $547.5m annually

Protected animals smuggling reaches $547.5m annually

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Smuggling of protected animals in Indonesia is valued at a
whopping US$1.5 billion a year, with Jakarta topping the list
with $1.5 million per day or $547.5 million per year, according
to a survey.

The Gibbon Foundation survey found the practice was widespread
thanks to the help of government officials and military officers,
and poor law enforcement.

"This (smuggling) is certainly not a small case for this
country, so people must fight against it," foundation director
Willie Smits said on the sidelines of an international seminar on
Indonesian Wildlife in Jakarta on Thursday.

Smits said it had carried out undercover interviews with
smugglers in various cities during the survey.

Jakarta is the biggest haven for smugglers, followed by the
East Java capital of Surabaya, the Central Java capital of
Semarang and the North Sumatra capital of Medan, the survey
found.

In Jakarta the trade of protected animals centered in Jl.
Pramuka in Central Jakarta and Jl. Barito in South Jakarta.

Smits said birds and primates, particularly orangutan, were
the most popular targets, as were reptiles.

A day earlier, Ministry of Forestry forest protection and
natural conservation director general I Made Subadia said the
trade of protected animals had reached $600 million per year.

Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong and European countries
are popular destinations for protected animals.

"All people in the country will suffer great losses, not only
from an economic point of view, but from the extinction of
biodiversity," Smits said.

He said at least 25 species of tree and fruit could disappear
if one orangutan became extinct because they could only grow with
the assistance of the great ape.

Smits insisted that traders in big cities instead of animal
hunters from villages were the ones who benefited most from the
illegal trade.

"It is difficult to combat the illicit practice as it is
supported by many government officials and military officers," he
said.

"If the government wants to eradicate the practice, they must
certainly take legal action against the perpetrators and those
who support it."