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

Table 5.
Species composition of gibbons and orang-utans that have been received by the various wildlife rescue centres
in Java and Bali.
Wildlife rescue
centre
PPSTA PPSG PPSC PPSJ PPSPS JGRRC YGI Total
Species
H. moloch 9 1 4 1 15
H. agilis 4 4 4 6 1 19
H. albibarbis 1 4 3 8
H. klossi 1 1
H. muelleri 1 1
S. syndactylus 12 8 6 4 6 7 43
P. pygmaeus 11 10 2 6 29
P. abelii 1 1
TOTAL 117
Key: PPSTA = Wildlife Rescue Centre Tegal Alur, PPSG = Wildlife Rescue Centre Gadog, PPSC = Wildlife Rescue Centre Cikanangan, PPSJ = Wildlife Rescue Centre
Jogja, PPSPS = Wildlife Rescue Centre Petungsewu, JGRRC = Javan Gibbon Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, YGI = Yayasan Gibbon Indonesia. Note that a small
number of animals may have been counted twice when they were transferred between the wildlife rescue centres between visits. Note also, that in October 2003, a
number of Siamangs were confiscated in the province of Lampung, south Sumatra, and that these animals were transferred directly to the Tegal Alur Wildlife Rescue Centre.
From there, these animals have found their way to other wildlife rescue centres (Gadog, Cikanagan and Petungsewu). In the analysis, these animals are, as far as possible,
not included.
Confiscations versus donations
According to Indonesian law, keeping gibbons and orang-utans is prohibited and as such, any gibbon or orang-utan
encountered in private hands should be confiscated. However, in 2001, the Directorate General of Forest Protection and
Nature Conservation (PHKA) issued an instruction (Instruksi Direktur Jendral Perlindungan Hutan dan Konservasi
Alam, No. 762/DJ-IV/ins/121/2001 – Penertiban dan pernegakan hukum terhadap pengusaan dan atua perdagangan
orang-utan dan satwa liar yang dilundungi undang-undang beserta habitatnya) for the regional Offices for the
Conservation of Natural Resources (BKSDA) that, in effect, exempts from prosecution those owners that freely hand
over protected animals to the BKSDA. This also includes, for example, those instances where BKSDA officers have
already entered the premises in order to confiscate the protected animals. Only when an owner refuses to cooperate does
he or she face (a small) chance of being legally prosecuted. This guideline does not only apply to those private owners
that are in the possession of 'just' one pet gibbon or one pet orang-utan, but even to those that have a ‘private zoo’ in
their backyard. Likewise, those who 'donate' their protected pet to a wildlife rescue centre and later are found to be in
the possession of yet another protected pet, can simply hand over this animal without having to fear prosecution. As
such, many donations have been made to the wildlife rescue centres and, to a lesser extent, zoological gardens.
Many of the gibbons and orang-utans that have entered the wildlife rescue centres are the result of the aforementioned
'confiscations', but in most cases, there is no intention of having the owners prosecuted. Likewise, many of the animals
that are registered as being received as donations have in fact been handed over to the BKSDA upon arrival. The
distinction between 'confiscations' and 'donations' is therefore rather vague, but, from a practical point of view, it really
does not matter as only very few people are actually prosecuted for keeping protected wildlife. As an example, of the
23 gibbons and orang-utans that have arrived at the Petungsewu wildlife rescue centre, 13 are the result of confiscations,
yet none of these resulted in the owner being brought to justice. Table 6 presents the ratio of confiscations vs donations
of the different species of gibbon and orang-utan that have arrived at the different wildlife rescue centres. Twice as many
IN FULL SWING:ASSESSMENT OF TRADE IN ORANGUTANS AND GIBBONS ON JAVA AND BALI,INDONESIA 27