Sumatra's Orangutan Pet-trade Threatens Extinction
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Many Orang-utans and gibbons are are kept in zoos in appalling conditions.
Illegal-trade devastates Sumatran orangutan population.
Lack of law enforcement against illegal trade in Indonesia threatens the survival of orangutans and gibbons on Sumatra, a new study by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC shows.
Despite considerable investment in wildlife conservation, numbers of the critically endangered orangutans captured, mainly for the pet trade, exceeded the levels of the 1970s. A lack of adequate law enforcement is to blame, TRAFFIC says.
Just 7,300 orangutans left on Sumatra -
Records of orangutans and gibbons put into rehabilitation centres serve as an indicator of how many of these animals were illegally held. Meanwhile numbers continue to decline in the wild, with the most recent estimate of just 7,300 Sumatran orangutans surviving.
Orangutans, which can weigh up to around 90 kilograms and reach 1.5 metres in length, end up in such centres after they become too old and big to be held as pets. But owners of the reddish-brown coloured apes do not face any legal consequences.
"Confiscating these animals without prosecuting the owners is futile," said Chris R Shepherd, Acting Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.
"There is no deterrent for those committing these crimes if they go unpunished. Indonesia has adequate laws, but without serious penalties, this illegal trade will continue, and these species will continue to spiral towards extinction."
Other threats -
The report recommends that the root causes of trade be examined and that laws be better implemented for the protection of orangutans, gibbons and the island's other wildlife. Sumatra's wildlife is also threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation, logging, land conversion, encroachment, and forest fires.
WWF is working to reduce the destruction of wildlife habitat in Sumatra by working with industry to ensure High Conservation Value Forests are not converted for agriculture, empowering local communities to manage natural resources in a sustainable way, and providing alternatives.
Illegal-trade devastates Sumatran orangutan population.
Lack of law enforcement against illegal trade in Indonesia threatens the survival of orangutans and gibbons on Sumatra, a new study by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC shows.
Despite considerable investment in wildlife conservation, numbers of the critically endangered orangutans captured, mainly for the pet trade, exceeded the levels of the 1970s. A lack of adequate law enforcement is to blame, TRAFFIC says.
Just 7,300 orangutans left on Sumatra -
Records of orangutans and gibbons put into rehabilitation centres serve as an indicator of how many of these animals were illegally held. Meanwhile numbers continue to decline in the wild, with the most recent estimate of just 7,300 Sumatran orangutans surviving.
Orangutans, which can weigh up to around 90 kilograms and reach 1.5 metres in length, end up in such centres after they become too old and big to be held as pets. But owners of the reddish-brown coloured apes do not face any legal consequences.
"Confiscating these animals without prosecuting the owners is futile," said Chris R Shepherd, Acting Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.
"There is no deterrent for those committing these crimes if they go unpunished. Indonesia has adequate laws, but without serious penalties, this illegal trade will continue, and these species will continue to spiral towards extinction."
Other threats -
The report recommends that the root causes of trade be examined and that laws be better implemented for the protection of orangutans, gibbons and the island's other wildlife. Sumatra's wildlife is also threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation, logging, land conversion, encroachment, and forest fires.
WWF is working to reduce the destruction of wildlife habitat in Sumatra by working with industry to ensure High Conservation Value Forests are not converted for agriculture, empowering local communities to manage natural resources in a sustainable way, and providing alternatives.
