ProFauna's Support for Wildlife Law Enforcement in Indonesia

According to ProFauna's review in 2009 about wildlife trade in Indonesia (Wildlife Illegal Trade and Smuggling in Indonesia Remains High) showing that the illegal trade in the country remained high, the release also mentioned, however, that the Indonesian Police have managed to run 27 operations of 53 wildlife crimes. ProFauna records proved as well that the Police take serious actions on certain regions like in East Java, Bali, and Jakarta.

Thus, ProFauna Indonesia staged a unique demonstration in front of the Indonesian Police Headquarters in Jakarta, last 6 January 2010, where its supporters (volunteers) put on police-like uniforms and animal masks on their heads. The public campaign was intended to publish ProFauna's annual review (link) on wildlife trade in Indonesia and also to give support to the Indonesian Police and other enforcement agencies to better enforce the wildlife law in the country.

For the case of wildlife syndicate revelation where the Forestry Department Rangers and the Jakarta Police Department successfully confiscated two whole tiger skins, six stuffed birds of paradise, two whole leopard cat skins, 12 stuffed deer heads, a surili, five deer skulls, a bear head, and a deer skin, on 7 August 2009, ProFauna had given enforcement assistances to the authorities and monitored the trial. As a result, the perpetrator was sentenced 1-year-and-three-month sentence last 6 January 2010. ProFauna team together with its supporters (volunteers) attended the final court in Jakarta to give support to the prosecutors.

Far away in Eastern Indonesia, ProFauna Parrot Protection Campaign team has also succeeded in lobbying the Sultan of Ternate Palace, North Maluku, to publish, Idin Kolano, a Sultan's Order to save and protect parrots in Ternate. This local or traditional legislation is very important to regulate local and traditional people, some of them are poachers, who can not be reached by media and are illiterate so they do not know the national wildlife law. These local people, however, obey and listen to their traditional leader, Sultan of Ternate Palace. ProFauna is also still working on the wildlife protection campaign through religious approach and other effective ones so that any kind of regulation and law can support each other to protect wildlife in Indonesia.