In full swing: assessment of trade in orang-utans and ... - WWF UK

INTRODUCTION
Background
From the Snub-nosed Monkeys of China to the Lion Tamarins of the Amazon and the Indris of Madagascar, nearly half
of all the world's primates are threatened with extinction. Among the apes - the chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans
and gibbons – two-thirds are included on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Anon, 2004b).
For the successful conservation of primates, it is essential that the root causes of the threats that the different species
face, are properly understood. The primary extrinsic threats to the majority of primates are unquestionably habitat
destruction (Eudey, 1987) and hunting (Robinson & Bennett, 2000), but as remaining populations become increasingly
smaller, the impacts of secondary threats become more and more important. Trade in primates, be it trade in live
animals or trade in primate products to be used as medicine or as ornaments, can have a dramatic impact on the last
surviving populations of already rare primates (Eudey, 1999).
The trade in live primates is driven by both domestic and international markets. Within many countries of origin, most
live primates are traded as pets. In contrast, the international trade is largely driven by biomedical research, although
trade for pets, zoo animals, and circus exhibits also
contribute, as does the trade in primate parts for
traditional medicines (Cowlishaw & Dunbar, 2000).
Furthermore, the relative importance of these types of
trade demand differs greatly between regions and
between species.
Although a great many studies have been conducted on
the effects of habitat destruction and hunting on primate
populations (reviewed in e.g., Johns 1992, 1987;
Skuropa, 1986), comparatively few data on the severity
of trade have been collected. This, in part, has to do
with the difficulties associated with the data collection.
Data on domestic trade are often difficult to obtain
(Mittermeier, 1987). Although trade and hunting are
tightly linked, the former almost by definition involves
the latter, whereas the latter can occur in the absence of
the former. In other words, no trade occurs without
hunting, but hunting can occur without trade.
Especially in those species where the infant is the main
target, including gibbons and orang-utans, mothers are Orangutan Pongo pygmaeus
normally killed in order to obtain the young and hunting
is an integral part of trade. For those species where both the young and adults have commercial value, e.g. macaques
and langurs, capturing can be done with nets and as such trade can occur in the absence of hunting. Where trade occurs
as a by-product of subsistence hunting, for instance when infants are captured when their mothers are killed, its impact
might be limited to the selective targeting of the mothers during normal subsistence hunting (Mitttermeier, 1987).
However, the demand for infants may intensify hunting pressure. In contrast, when domestic trade in live animals is the
result of demand for meat and medicinal ingredients, its impact is likely to be of the same magnitude as bushmeat
hunting (Oates, 1999). Bushmeat hunting, especially when it concerns primates, is traditionally associated with west
Credit: WWF-Malaysia/Wildtrack Photography
IN FULL SWING:ASSESSMENT OF TRADE IN ORANGUTANS AND GIBBONS ON JAVA AND BALI,INDONESIA 1