Rare animal trade flourishes with 'official' protection

A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many officers from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and police, as well as politicians and government officials are involved in the rare animal trade in the country, allowing the illicit practice to flourish, activists claim.

Speaking at a year-end press conference on Tuesday, Chairul Saleh of the Word Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia and Harry Alexander of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Indonesia Program called on the leaders of the TNI and police to reprimand officers found backing the trade in protected animals.

"Next year, we will meet leaders from the TNI and police to discuss this matter," said Chairul, the head of WWF's Policy and Trade division here.

Besides backing the trade in endangered animals, he said, lots of military and police officers had a habit of absconding with protected animals as souvenirs or pets after their tours of duty in certain areas of the country.

Chairul said that hundreds of protected birds from North Maluku and Papua had been taken by Javanese officers before they returned home this year.

Harry Alexander agreed with Chairul and added that middle- and high-ranking officers often received rare animals as gifts when they got promoted to certain positions.

"We recently received a report that a military district chief in Kerinci regency, Jambi was given a baby bear when he was appointed this year. But when we went to check the following day, the bear had allegedly gone missing," said Harry, who is also coordinator of the Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU).

WCU is a coalition of several non-governmental organizations, including WCS Indonesia Program, Alas Indonesia and the Independent Journalist Alliance, as well as the Forestry Ministry's Natural Resource and Conservation Board.

Harry also said that WCU discovered this year that a local Golkar politician and member of the Bengkulu legislature, was involved in the protected animal trade.

"The legislative member was arrested for selling the skin of a Sumatran Tiger. But we heard that the police are going to release him," Harry said.

He also said that WCU had noticed that a new method had developed for those into the selling of protected animals.

He said businessmen often used old women as couriers to transport protected animals from Lampung to Jakarta by using state-run Damri bus company.

"Cooperating with the police, we earlier arrested nine old women and seized hundreds of protected animals. But we finally released them since we took pity on them," he said.

He said that the women sold the protected animals, usually various primates and birds, to buyers in Jakarta for between Rp 50,000 (US$5.8) and Rp 150,000.

"If one woman transports 60 animals a week, the nine women can deliver 25,920 protected animals, taken from many areas in Sumatra, to Jakarta in a year and the total amount of the transactions can exceed Rp 2.5 billion," he says.