Indonesia: Stop orangutan skull trade

Antara 7 Sep 11;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Center of Orangutan Protection, a Non-Governmental-Organization, urged the society and the government to be proactive in law enforcement toward of trading of preserved animal and bones of endangered species to stop Orangutan skull trade.

"Illegal orangutan skulls trade still continues in souvenir shops in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, and Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. It is not like monkey skulls that are displayed at the shop, the orangutan skulls are hidden from the public attention," Principal of the Centre for Orangutan Protection Hardi Baktiantoro said here on a released received by ANTARA News Wednesday.

According to him, the Orangutan skulls price were set by the traders between 500 thousand rupiah to two million rupiah.

The traders buy the Orangutan skulls from the communities living in the oil palm plantation area, Hardi said.

"Orangutans that are trapped in the fragmented forests or in the forests for conservation area, will easily get shot. And after a month, the hunter will be back to the area and takes the skulls," Hardi said.

In August 2011, Center for Orangutan Protection had found four orangutan skulls at an oil palm plantation area in Sembuluh lake, Central Kalimantan. The NGO also found an Orangutan buried in an oil palm plantation area in East Kalimantan.

"This trading could be completely stopped if the souvenir traders, who are convicted of selling the orangutan skulls, are arrested. Therefore, there are no more people who are buying and ordering the orangutan skulls from the communities or the oil palm workers," Hardi said.

The orangutan skulls trade is violating Article 21 of Law No. 5/1990 on Conservation of Biological Natural Resource and Its Ecosystem.

Therefore, Hardi urged The Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) of the Ministry of Forestry to act firmly by enforcing the law towards the souvenir shops that sell preserved animals and bones of endangered species.

Moreover, oil palm plantation companies should create and run the appropriate protection system of conservation in their concession areas, and also assist the BKSDA to arrest their workers who had been convicted for killing orangutans, he said.
(T.SDP-04/Uu.H-NG/O001/F001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH