PRESS RELEASE
17 July 2015
BKSDA Deaf to NGO’s Illegal Gibbon Alarm Call?
Investigators from wildlife trade monitoring group SCORPION have four times told BKSDA of a Siamang gibbon being held illegally and cruelly outside a military officer’s home in Cibubur, Ciracas sub-distrik, East Jakarta, but no confiscation has yet taken place.
SCORPION’s Senior investigator Marison Guciano said, “We are very worried about the health of this endangered primate and just as worried about our own BKSDA officials doing nothing to help it. If the law is not going to be enforced we will soon have no wild animals left in the wild.”
Scorpion wants very much to help BKSDA stop the illegal wildlife trade, which is why investigators are disappointed when forestry officials show no interest in tackling these crimes.
The ‘legal’ wildlife trade in general and especially in markets throughout Jakarta, are often used by dealers and buyers to trade in protected species. This is why SCORPION wants to see the wildlife markets permanently closed.
Guiciano continued, “The wildlife in our forests and fields belongs to us all and it is not for greedy people to steal from us and make big profits from, is it? Do you want your children and grandchildren to grow up without seeing any wild birds or animals other then in small cages?”
Indonesia is known the world over for its rampant illegal wildlife trade. It brings shame and embarrassment on our country and we want to stop it now; before it’s too late and we have lost most of our wildlife. This is not too much to ask, is it?
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Photos: high resolution photos available upon request.
Contact Person: Marison Guciano, Senior Investigator
HP + 6281210195047
Email: marisonguciano@gmail.com
info@scorpionmonitor.org