Posted on June, 17 2005

Jakarta, Indonesia – Orang-utans and gibbons are still traded and kept as pets in Java and Bali despite having been legally protected in Indonesia since 1931, according to a new report from TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. 

The report – In Full Swing, An Assessment of Trade in Orang-utans and Gibbons on Java and Bali, Indonesia – calls for greater awareness among Indonesia's judiciary, enforcement agencies, and general public to ensure that trade in the endangered primates is treated as a serious crime. 
 
Based on analyzed data from 1994–2003 on information collected from 35 wildlife markets in 22 cities across the two islands, TRAFFIC investigators found a total of 559 orang-utans and gibbons during the surveys, many on sale or being illegally traded in “bird markets” locally known as pasar burung. The actual numbers of animals sold from the markets, however, are largely unknown.

“Better monitoring of wildlife markets would enable more accurate analysis of the trade in primates as well as other wildlife species that continue to be sold in these markets,” said James Compton, Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia. 
“This would definitely help increase the efficiency of law enforcement.” 
 
Orang-utans and gibbons are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), prohibiting any international trade in these animals. Under Indonesian law, orang-utans and gibbons are classified as “protected”, which forbids capturing, killing, possessing, and trading these species. Penalties for breaking the law can total up to IDR100 000 000 (US$10,455) in fines and up to five years of imprisonment. 
 
However, the TRAFFIC report found that people who hunt, keep, and trade in orang-utans and gibbons are rarely punished. In all, fewer than 10 per cent of all persons that had specimens confiscated from them were actually prosecuted. It appears that many law enforcement personnel, including judges and prosecutors, do not see trade in or possession of protected species as pets as a serious offence.  
 
“A large-scale awareness building and education programme targeting general public and law enforcement officials should be set up to increase the understanding of the protected status of wildlife, and effectiveness of law enforcement in the field,” said Dr Mubariq Ahmad, CEO of WWF-Indonesia.

“Trade must be addressed in conjunction with increased protection of the lowland forest ecosystems that form the habitat of orang-utans and gibbons particularly in Borneo and Sumatra.” 
 
The report also found that from the estimated 40,000 wild population of the Borneo orang-utan, trade on Java and Bali alone may be contributing to an annual loss rate which corresponds to up to some 1,000 individuals a year, or one to three orang-utans a day. This does not necessarily include loss due to habitat destruction. 
 
“Indonesia is fully committed to step up enforcement at major exit and entry points which is clearly needed to ensure that species are not smuggled out of Sumatra and Kalimantan to other countries or within Indonesia, to Java and Bali," said Adi Susmianto, the Director of Biodiversity Conservation at PHKA, Indonesia’s CITES Management Authority.
 
"More importantly, the habitat of the orang-utans and gibbons must be protected to stop such endangered species from being poached.” 
 
Both orang-utans and gibbons are hunted and traded to satisfy persistent demand for pets. Orang-utans are the most expensive primates for sale in the markets of Indonesia and are kept in households as status symbols. Orang-utans are also in trade for the entertainment industry.

In November 2003, the Thai Authorities seized 115 orang-utans from the premises of Safari World in Bangkok and the source of these great apes was reportedly from Indonesia.  The case is ongoing, and the Indonesian government has requested the repatriation of the remaining orang-utans from Thailand on a number of occasions. 
 
“The general public needs to understand that buying and keeping an orang-utan or gibbon as a pet is contributing to the depletion of wild populations,” added Compton.

“Not only is it against the law to purchase and keep these animals in Indonesia, but it is destroying the country’s precious natural heritage.” 

END NOTES: 
  
• Orang-utans and gibbons are found in the tropical rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo. There are two known species of orang-utans: the Bornean Orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus) and the Sumatran Orang-utan (P. abelii). The seven species of gibbons that were surveyed for the report include: Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch), Agile gibbon (Hylobates agilis), Bornean white-bearded gibbon (H. albibarbis), Muller’s gibbon (H. muelleri), white-handed gibbon (H. lar), Kloss gibbon (H. klossi), and Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus). All these gibbon species occur in Indonesia. The Kloss Gibbon is endemic to the Mentawai islands off Sumatra, while the Bornean White-bearded Gibbon and the Mueller Gibbon are endemic to Borneo. 
 
• The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates international trade in more than 30,000 species of wild animals and plants. The Convention is currently applied in 167 nations, including Indonesia. Orang-utans and all gibbons are listed under CITES Appendix I. 

• TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network – a joint programme of WWF and IUCN–The World Conservation Union – works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.

For more information: 
James Compton, Regional Director
TRAFFIC Southeast Asia
E-mail: james.compton@po.jaring.my  

Nazir Foead, Species Programme Director
WWF-Indonesia
Tel: +62 5761070 
E-mail: nfoead@wwf.or.id

Maija Sirola, Communications Coordinator
TRAFFIC International
Tel: +44 1223 277427 
E-mail: maija.sirola@trafficint.org