Press Release: ProFauna Protests The Shipment of Moluccan Parrots by Allegedly Corrupt Army Officers

ProFauna Protests The Shipment of Moluccan Parrots by Allegedly Corrupt Army Officers(09/25/2012) ProFauna Indonesia condemns the policy of the Natural Resources Conservation Center of the Forestry Department (known and abbreviated as BKSDA) in Ternate, the capital of North Maluku, Eastern Indonesia for issuing a permit letter to transport protected parrots to some officers of the Indonesian National Armed Force (known and abbreviated as TNI). In July 2012, ProFauna received a documentary evidence of the issuance of four copies of the transport permit by the BKSDA for four army officers. The permit was to authorize the transport 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) bond for Ambon, Maluku. The total was 2 for each species.

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 Number 5 year 1990 concerning the Conservation of the Natural Resources and the Ecosystem, 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 millions Indonesian Rupiah fine.

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. Between January and August 2012, ProFauna Maluku recorded that the average of the parrots being traded every month: 9 White Cockatoos (Cacatua alba), 36 Chattering Lories (Lorius garrulous), 4 Eclectus parrots (Eclectus roratus), and 18 Violet-necked Lories (Eos squamata). The birds were traded openly that anyone could easily buy them.

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.

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 through sea routes.

Chairman of ProFauna Indonesia, Rosek Nursahid, affirmed, "The National Forestry Department should take action against the Head of BKSDA in Ternate for issuing a transport permit for the protected parrots!" Without strict law enforcement, the trade of the protected parrots in North Maluku will continue despite of the clear prohibition of the law.

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ProFauna Indonesia is an Indonesian society for the protection of
wild animals and their habitats