Illegal Trade Wiping Out Indonesia's Sumatran Orangutans

Numbers of these primates continue to decline in the wild, and TRAFFIC estimates that just 7,300 critically endangered Sumatran orangutans now survive.

Orangutans, which can weigh up to 90 kilograms (198 pounds) and reach 1.5 meters (5 feet) in length, end up in rehabilitation centers after they become too old and big to be kept as pets.

Under Indonesia's national legislation, penalties for illegally possessing orangutans include a fine of up to IDR100,000.000 (US$9000) and imprisonment for up to five years.

A captive orangutan in Indonesia (Photo by Dawn Forsythe courtesy Orangutan Watch)

But owners of the big reddish-brown apes do not face any legal consequences TRAFFIC found in its first study of the Indonesian ape trade.

An estimated 2,000 orangutans have been confiscated or turned in by private owners in Indonesia in the last 30 years but no more than a handful of people have ever been successfully prosecuted.

"Confiscating these animals without prosecuting the owners is futile," said Chris Shepherd, acting director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia from his office in Malaysia.

"There is no deterrent for those committing these crimes, if they go unpunished," he said. "Indonesia has adequate laws, but without serious penalties, this illegal trade will continue, and these species will continue to spiral towards extinction."

Between 2002 and 2008, for example, the newly opened Sibolangit rehabilitation center in Sumatra took in 142 Sumatran orangutans, while its predecessor, Bohorok rehabilitation centre accepted just 30 animals between 1995–2001 when it closed, and 105 orangutans between 1973 and 1979.

"When the first rehabilitation centres were established for orangutans and later for gibbons it was hoped that with more apes being confiscated, levels of illegal trade would fall," said Vincent Nijman, a TRAFFIC consultant and author of the report, based at Oxford Brookes University in England.

Orangutan rehabilitation center, Bukit Lawang, Sumatra (Photo by Aikaterinh)

"But with hundreds of orangutans and gibbons present in such centers, and dozens added every year, it is hard to view these numbers as anything other than an indictment against Indonesia’s law enforcement efforts," he said.

The report also documents the 148 Sumatran gibbons and siamangs and 26 Sumatran orangutans kept in Indonesian zoos.

"Proper enforcement of laws protecting orangutans is critical in Indonesia" said Wendy Elliott, species manager at WWF International. "If the situation continues, the Sumatra orangutan could well face extinction."

The report recommends that the root causes of trade be examined and that laws be better implemented for the protection of orangutans, gibbons and Sumatra's other wildlife.

In July 2007, the Supreme Court of Indonesia hosted the country’s first national judiciary workshop on wildlife crime and prosecution as part of a government commitment to step up its fight against organized poaching and trafficking of wild animals and plants.

Habitat loss due to deforestation, logging, land conversion, encroachment, and forest fires also threatens the survival of the island's remaining wildlife.

TRAFFIC is a joint program of the global conservation organization WWF and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN.

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