Bali Discovery 21 Nov 09;
Serangan Island Officials Join WWF in Rejecting Proposal by Bali Government to Set Aside 1,000 Turtles for Sacrifice Each Year.
Beritabali.com reports that the traditional chief of Serangan island, Made Mudana Wiguna, has firmly stated his disagreement with the purported recommendation of Bali's governor Made Mangku Pastika to the Forestry Department that a yearly quota of 1,000 turtles be set aside for ceremonial sacrifice.
Mudana feels that the governor's recommendation is not in keeping with efforts to conserve the turtle population. Moreover, he sees the use of turtles for sacrifice as flying in the face of efforts to restore Serangan Island's branding as a "turtle island."
Mudana told the press his rejection of the governor's recommendation is in keeping with the commitment of the people of Serangan Island to protect turtles and repairs Bali's negative reputation as an island that destroys turtles. "This reflects our commitment to eliminate the trade in turtles and restore Serangan island's name as a ‘turtle island' like it enjoyed in 1974," he explained.
Mudana pointed to the inclusion of turtle conservation rules into local traditional laws in force on Serangan island as proof that the people of his village are genuinely concerned with protecting turtles.
Mudana underlined that any recommendation to set aside 1,000 turtles for ceremonial purposes is not a recommendation from the people of Serangan, what's more the recommendation is for the sacrifice of 1,000 green turtles and not olive ridley turtles.
According to Mudana, the endemic species of turtle on Serangan island is the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and not the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea).
WWF Joins the Debate
The World Wildlife Fund for Animals (WWF) is urging the Department of Forestry to reject the provincial government of Bali's request for 1,000 green turtles be set aside each year for ceremonial purposes.
WWF considers that if the Bali government's recommendation is accepted it will open up the door for the resumption of the green turtle trade in Bali which officially ended in 2003 when the use of turtles for ceremonial purposes was outlawed.
The coordinator of WWF programs for Indonesia, Creusa Hitipeuw, told the press gathered on Serangan island on November 20, 2009, that there are efforts by certain parties to re-open the turtle trade in Bali through using religious ceremonies to camouflage their true intentions. WWF warned that such tactics, if successful, will have a negative impact on Bali's tourism industry.
Said Hitipeuw: "the need for turtles is not for religious ceremonies, most will be sold for consumption (as food). If, in fact, the turtles were for religious purposes we could devise a mechanism."
Creusa Hitipeuw, the coordinator for WWF Indonesia estimates that 500 turtles are sold illegally each year n Bali. Most of these turtles come from Sulawesi, Maluku and Sumatra.
Indonesia rejects Bali plan for turtle sacrifices
Niniek Karmini, AP Google News 27 Nov 09;
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia has rejected a push by the resort island of Bali for rare turtles to be legally slain in Hindu ceremonies, siding with conservationists of the protected reptiles against religious advocates, an official said Friday.
Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika enraged environmentalists by advocating a quota of 1,000 green turtles to be killed each year, strictly for ceremonial purposes.
He said legally killed turtles should not end up in cooking pots, served to tourists in restaurants as soup or turtle skewers as they had in the past.
"It would be supervised tightly, and any violation would have to punished," Pastika told reporters in Denpasar, Bali, on Wednesday.
Turtle meat is a traditional delicacy in Bali, the only province with a Hindu majority in Indonesia's Muslim-dominated archipelago. But Indonesia banned the turtle trade and consumption a decade ago amid international concerns about the endangered species' dwindling numbers and threats by animal welfare groups of a tourist boycott of Bali.
Masyud, a spokesman for the Forestry Ministry which is also responsible for animal conservation, said Friday the governor's request for a Bali exemption from national protection laws was recently rejected on scientific advice.
"The law clearly mandates it was not possible, that the green turtles are included in the animals listed for protection," said Masyud, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
Tens of thousands of green turtles nest on Indonesia's coasts, but sites have dwindled due to poaching and development.
Conservationist generally respect the Hindus' need for turtles in rituals, but railed against the number proposed.
Wayan Geria, coordinator of the Turtle Education and Conservation Center at Bali, described the quota plan as an embarrassment to protection efforts.
Creusa Hitipeuw, coordinator of the Indonesia turtle program of the World Wildlife Fund, said introducing such a high quota could trigger large-scale illegal trade and consumption.
"We recognize the need for the use of turtles in a ceremony, but it has to be managed well," she said. "What we are afraid of is the commercial trade. It's a death trap for this kind of population."
Bali Hindu Faith Council head Ngurah Sudiana called for Jakarta to approve a smaller quota.
"The central government should understand the need for green turtles as part of traditional ceremonies because it relates to our faith," Sudiana said. "Prohibiting it will hurt Balinese people."
Up to five turtles are needed for sacrifice at each of the 100 to 150 large ceremonies a year in Hindu temples around Bali, he said.
Turtles were traditionally decapitated. But since they became protected in 1999, ceremonies in many temples have changed with turtles being symbolically sacrificed through their release to the sea alive.
Associated Press writer Ali Kotarumalos contributed to this report.
