ProFauna Battles Indonesian Primate Trade

ProFauna Indonesia has been combating the illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia ever since this wildlife protection organization was founded in 1994. Primates have often been the focus of ProFauna’s direct actions and public awareness campaigns, as these animals are some of the most frequent targets of illicit trafficking.

ProFauna is known for engaging celebrities in the cause (Indonesian rock singer Melanie Subono participated in some of ProFauna’s demonstrations earlier this year, for example), which helps draw media attention to this issue. In addition,ProFauna actively encourages the police to enforce laws banning the trade in primates. According to the 1990 Indonesian Wildlife Act (No. 5), selling protected primates is punishable by up to fi ve years in prison and a fine of 100 million Indonesian rupiah (or US$10,000). Unfortunately, the law is not enough.

Bird market surveys

Indonesia’s bird markets (popular open-air markets where many types of animals are sold) are common venues for the illegal traffi cking of such protected primate species as slow lorises and Javan langurs. From May to July 2009, ProFauna visited 70 bird markets on the island of Java to survey the degree to which this kind of trading was happening. We found that 21 locations (23 percent of those surveyed) had primates for sale, including longtailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), Javan langurs (Trachypithecus auratus), slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang), and tarsiers (Tarsius bancanus). During our investigation, we recorded 126 primates being sold openly. Of these four species, long tailedmacaques (also known as crab-eating macaques) were the most commonly traded; we counted 78 of them for sale. We also found 45 slow lorises on the market, while Javan langurs and tarsiers accounted for the remaining primates traded.Javan langurs are bought primarily as pets, although some locals will eat them, as well. Some believe that langur meat can cure asthma, but others enjoy it as a snack, suitable for consuming with drinks at a party.

Slow lorises, one of most popularly traded primates, are mostly bought to be kept as pets. They look cute and loveable, but buyers are not usually aware that slow lorises are nocturnal, so the animals are rather sluggish during the day; traders take advantage of this ignorance to sell more animals. In addition, slow lorises are also sold dead and stuffed, as some people believe such items can keep away evil. What an illogical belief!

The prices for animals varied. Slow lorises could be bought for 75,000 to 250,000 IDR (US$7.50 to US$25) and a Javan langur might cost around 200,000 IDR (US$20), while a small tarsier could fetch around 500,000 IDR (US$50). Babies or juveniles were more expensive than adult primates. The venue with the most primates was the bird market in Ngawi, East Java.

The market is located on the main road connecting East Java and Central Java. Most primates were kept in very poor conditions, crammed into small cages and suffering from stress. To add insult to injury, the traders there dyed the Javan langurs’ hair blonde to attract buyers. ProFauna decided to act.

Seizure of lorises and langurs

In a dramatic operation conducted by the East Java police and assisted by ProFauna, the team successfully seized 21 slow lorises and 15 Javan langurs and arrested a suspected dealer on 5 November 2009 in a raid on the Ngawi bird market. A month before the operation, the ProFauna team conducted an undercover investigation to observe the trade situation.

The team managed to infi ltrate the traders’ circle and won their confi dence by placing orders for some primates. Once we knew for sure that the traders were in possession of a large quantity of protected primates, ProFauna immediately contacted the police, who had been waiting for ProFauna’s tipoff. In the middle of the night, the East Java police department team left their headquarters for Nagwi, which is six hours away by car.

At dawn, ProFauna and the police team arrived at their destination. They headed straight to the bird market in Ngawi to confi scate the primates and apprehend the criminals. The teams surprised the traders there, who ran away into the forest behind the market. The officers followed them into the forest, while ProFauna crews evacuated the lorises and langurs who had been thrown into the bushes. As a result of this successful raid, we hope that other traders will be deterred from selling protected animals and that law enforcement offi cials will be encouraged to pursue even more illegal wildlife traffickers in Indonesia.