Thai govt promises to return orangutans after DNA test
Thai govt promises to return orangutans after DNA test
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia will have to wait for the return of 69 orangutans, it
suspects have been smuggled into Thailand, as the Thai government
requires them to undergo DNA tests to determine their origin, an
activist says.
ProFauna Indonesia international affairs coordinator Hardi
Baktiantoro said on Thursday that the Thai government had
promised to return the 69 orangutans once it was proven that they
originated from Indonesia.
"Based on our observations, we know that the 69 orangutans are
from Kalimantan. But the Thai government wants more solid
evidence, thus they decided to perform DNA tests to find out
their origins," said Hardi.
He said that the Thai government promised to return the
orangutans immediately if the DNA test results showed that they
were from Indonesia.
He said that the Thai government was willing to compromise as
it had ratified the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) -- an
international agreement which aims to ensure the trade of wild
flora and fauna does not threaten the species.
"Thailand will be the host of the next CITES convention, and
it certainly wants to retain its positive image," Hardi told The
Jakarta Post.
Earlier on the same day, ProFauna Indonesia held a
demonstration in front of the Thai Embassy in Jakarta.
In the demonstration, ProFauna Indonesia demanded that the
Thai government take actions against the Safari World management
as it failed to prove the orangutans' legal status.
The organization demanded that the Thai government punish
officials involved in the conspiracy to capture the orangutans.
It further called on the Thai government to stop kick boxing
shows performed by orangutans as it would harm them and lead to
premature death.
According to ProFauna Indonesia, there are at least 115
orangutans smuggled into Thailand and held captive at Safari
World in Bangkok.
Hardi said that Thailand was not the only country that
smuggled orangutans from Indonesia.
"Cambodia is also a country in which smuggled orangutans are
rampant. Based on a survey during our visit there, there are
approximately 19 orangutans that we suspect are from Indonesia,
but we still need to investigate further to determine whether
they are really from our country," said Hardi.