ProFauna Applauds the Confiscation of 17 Wildlife in Lumajang – East Java
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Pro Fauna Indonesia

The Provincial Office of the Natural Resources Conservation Center of the Forestry Department and the Lumajang Police Department have succeeded in confiscating 17 protected wildlife on 5thOctober 2011. The rare wild animals included three Javan langurs (Trachipytechus auratus), a barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), two slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang), ten hornbills (Buceros undulatus), and a buffy fish owl (Ketupa ketupu). The suspect admitted to smuggle the wildlife to Malang city for the illegal trade.

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Confiscated Javan langur babies

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Confiscated Hornbill chicks

ProFauna Indonesia applauds the apprehension by the Office and the police because the illegal wildlife trade has posed serious threat to wildlife in the wild. ProFauna records show that the one of the main reasons for declining population of wildlife in the wild, like in some nature conservation areas, is due to the poaching for trade.

ProFauna also encourages the authorities to fully enforce the law. According to the Indonesian wildlife act no. 5 year 1990 concerning the Conservation of the Natural Resources and the Ecosystems; the trade of the protected wildlife is illegal and violators are liable to a maximum of five year prison terms or a 100 millions Indonesia Rupiah fine.

Rosek Nursahid, Chairman of ProFauna Indonesia stated, “Offenders should be punished with the maximum penalty in order to deter such wildlife crime”. Nursahid also added that the law must be transparently enforced as most cases would disappear because they were not taken seriously by the authorities.

ProFauna also reveals that the trend of the illegal wildlife trade does not happen openly in the animal markets like it used to be. Instead, most traders keep the illegal wildlife in their houses. If there are serious buyers, traders will show the animals in order to hide the crimes from the authorities.

Butet Sitohang
International Affairs Officer


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