Indonesian army officers’ illegal parrot trade

From Wildlife Extra:

Parrot trade in Indonesia continues openly

Army officers granted permits for protected species

September 2012. ProFauna Indonesia has condemned the policy of the Natural Resources Conservation Center of the Forestry Department (BKSDA) in Ternate, in Eastern Indonesia, for issuing a permit to transport protected parrots to some officers of the Indonesian National Armed Force (TNI).

In July 2012, ProFauna received a documentary evidence of four copies of the transport permit issued by the BKSDA for four army officers. The permit was to authorize the transport of two of each of the following parrots: the Eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus), the Black-capped Lory (Lorius domicella), the Chattering Lory (Lorius garrulous), and the Violet-necked Lory (Eos squamata).

Among the four species, two are protected by the Indonesian Wildlife Act: the Eclectus parrot and the Black-capped Lory. BKSDA should have not issued the transport permit because it is illegal to keep the parrots as pets. According to the law, the trade and possession of protected wildlife is prohibited and offenders are liable to a maximum of 5 year prison term or a maximum of 100 million Indonesian Rupiah fine.

Iskandar Abdullah, coordinator of ProFauna Maluku, said, “This is a regression for the BKSDA for issuing the transport permit for the Moluccan protected parrots for personal gain”. In fact, various parties in North Maluku have been working for the conservation of the parrots endemic to North Maluku as a biodiversity heritage of Indonesia.

Pet markets trading openly

Meanwhile, the results of ProFauna regular monitoring into three bird (animal/pet) markets in Ternate: Bastiong, Gamalama, and Baru markets, show that the parrot trade in the three markets remain high; the birds were traded openly. Between January and August 2012, ProFauna Maluku recorded that the average number of parrots being traded every month:

9 White Cockatoos (Cacatua alba)
36 Chattering Lories (Lorius garrulous)
4 Eclectus parrots (Eclectus roratus)
18 Violet-necked Lories (Eos squamata).

Previously, in 2008, ProFauna Indonesia launched an investigation report called “Pirated Parrots” revealing the smuggling of 10,000 parrots from North Maluku to supply the illegal parrot trade in the country. The report also uncovers the parrot smuggling to the Philippines.

Indonesia remains epicenter for illegal wildlife trade in reptiles and amphibians. Read more here.