Scorpion Foundation articulated the urgency of
releasing confiscated animals to their wild habitat. However, proper health
procedure should be followed accordingly. Programme Director of Scorpion
Foundation, Gunung Gea expressed this in a meeting between Natural Resources
Conservation Agency (BKSDA) North Sumatra and local NGO’s in BKSDA office in
Medan on Thursday (12/05/2016).
“Safety of the wild animals must be prioritised. For
the newly captured birds and other animals, they must be released to the wild
as soon as possible. It was a bad experience last year end that from 2,700
birds (from East Kalimantan) confiscated in Surabaya, up to 90 percent of the
birds died on the way during the process checking in quarantine. Only about 10%
were released back to the wild,” Gunung Gea told the meeting.
31 participants attended the meeting representing 11
NGO’s and 3 government institutions. The NGO’s consist of Leuser Conservation
Partnership (LCP), Pilar Indonesia, Budi Citha Foundation, Orangutan
Information Centre, Yayasan Orangutan Sumatra Lestari (YOSL), VESSWIC, Leuser
International Foundation, Sumatra Rainforest Institute, Canopy Foundation,
Indonesian Species Conservation Program (ISCP), Petai, and Scorpion Foundation.
Participants from government institutions included representatives from Medan Zoo
management, BKSDA North Sumatra, and from Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP).
The meeting discussed various issues, including,
among other things, handling of confiscated animals, infrastructures, wildlife
corridors, wildlife trade, permits for conservation agency.
The meeting was chaired jointly by Head of Technical Section at BKSDA North Sumatra, Garendel Siboro, head of Administration Section, Tri Atmojo.
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