0 Primate Day reignites calls for end to exploitation

Activists from ProFauna Indonesia on Jan. 30, in conjunction with Primate Day, called on the public to stop the exploitation of primates. The group recorded that last year, there was at least 40 cases of lemur trading online. In Bali, most cases involved species that were not protected, including the long-tail macaque. The group’s spokesman for Bali, Bayu Sandi, said that there was an average of 20 long-tail macaques being traded in Denpasar. He also noted that langur, a protected species, were still being caught and caged across the island. 

Some activists, wearing masks resembling various primate species and carrying slogan banners, rallied in front of the provincial legislative council office in Denpasar,. According to Bayu, the center of macaque trade in the city is in Satrya animal market, and that keeping a macaque as pet was seen as prestigious by some people. He also warned that keeping the animal posed a health risk, as the animal might transmit diseases including tuberculosis, hepatitis and herpes. 

“The simple way to avoid this is to let the animals live in their natural habitat,” he said. The most urgent issue for Bali is to maintain the island’s ecological balance. Primate trading is the most pressing problem after habitat destruction, which threatens the animals. According to ProFauna, more than 95 percent of the primates being traded in Indonesia had been taken from their natural habitat. The animals’ teeth are usually broken to give the impression that the animal was tame. 

ProFauna Indonesia’s spokesperson Swasti Prawidya Mukti said that this was the first time Primate Day was observed in Indonesia. The group also called on the government to end the illegal trade of primates. According to the 1990 law on nature conservation and ecosystem, the trade of protected primate species is illegal and carries a 5 year sentence and Rp 100 million (US$8,187) in fine. 

There are some 200 primate species worldwide, with 40 species or nearly 25 percent, in Indonesia. In 2000, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) issued a list of 25 endangered primate species, four of which were from Indonesia.

source : bali daily