Chain of Suffering

Location:
Indonesia
Uncovered:
the shocking trade in monkeys that violates international animal welfare guidelines and breaches Indonesia's own legislation.

How Indonesia is failing to comply with CITES regulations

The BUAV investigation has found that Indonesia is failing to fulfill certain obligations under CITES, which as a member state, it is required to do. Although Indonesia "officially" banned the export of wild-caught primates for research in 1994 and claims to only allow captive-bred monkeys to be exported, the BUAV investigation has shown that this ban is a sham. Through a combination of a lack of enforcement by the Indonesian authorities and the misuse of the correct source code definitions for CITES export permits, the BUAV believes that wild-caught long-tailed macaques continue to end up in the international research industry

  • Wild primates, for which an annual trapping quota is allocated to primate companies, are supposedly only captured and used for research purposes within Indonesia and to replenish breeding stock at those facilities that export captive-bred animals. In 2008, this quota was 5,100 for long-tailed macaques and 250 for pig-tailed macaques. However, due to the sheer number of wild-caught monkeys involved, combined with a lack of convincing enforcement on behalf of the Indonesian authorities, the BUAV argues that the Indonesian CITES authorities cannot be sure that these monkeys themselves do not end up in overseas laboratories.
  • Of equal importance is the misuse of important CITES codes that define the source of primates exported for research and the subsequent misleading information written on CITES export permits. Some primate supply companies simply removed wild-caught monkeys from one location in Indonesia and placed them in another - on islands under conditions no different from their original homes. Consequently, wild primates who are living and breeding freely in a natural environment are designated as captive-born animals and exported for the international research industry. The BUAV believes that the Indonesian authorities inappropriately define these monkeys as captive-born and not wild-caught in an apparent attempt to avoid the restrictions that would otherwise be placed on the trade by CITES. A number of the primate companies in Indonesia have connections with or have established so-called "breeding islands" from where they supply long-tailed macaques. The most well known of the islands is Tinjil Island, which is a tropical island off the coast of West Java. It was established in 1987 through the collaboration between a number of primate research facilities in the USA (Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC), the Bowman Gray School of Medicine, and the Oregon National Primate Research Center) and the Bogor Agricultural University (Institut Pertanian Bogor or IPB) in Indonesia. It is reported that between 1988 and 1994, 520 adult long-tailed macaques were released onto the island. In 2002, the population was estimated to be 2000 monkeys. Apparently by 2002, 1,150 offspring had been trapped and sent to be used in research, including 565 sent to the WaNPRC.
  • Further evidence obtained by the BUAV raises major concerns regarding the misuse of trapping permits and the validity and objectivity of macaque population surveys. These surveys are used by the authorities as the basis for deciding whether and how many macaques can be taken from the wild.
  • The BUAV also believes that the Indonesian CITES Management Authority is failing in its obligation under the Convention by granting export permits for primates who will undoubtedly suffer unnecessarily cruel treatment during transportation.

Indonesia is, therefore, not only in breach of its own legislation, it is also failing to comply with CITES regulations by not providing scientifically valid data and export quotas for wild-caught animals of an Appendix II species.

After desperately trying to escape, this trapped scared and bewildered monkey awaits his fate. Wild caught monkeys were apparently sold for as little as $2 US each. Indonesia continues to allow indigenous wild populations of macaques, such as these, to be plundered from its rainforests for the research industry. The Macaca fascicularis or long-tailed macaque is widespread throughout Southeast Asia. The species can live in a range of habitats, but prefers forested areas near water, including mangrove and swamp forests. This macaque was living freely in the jungles of Indonesia. Long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques are classified as Appendix II under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Threats to their survival include habitat destruction, hunting and persecution as a pest. Any trade in these primates for the research, industry will further exacerbate these losses. The BUAV investigation has uncovered the cruelty and suffering inflicted on macaques during their capture, confinement and transportation in Indonesia. At the Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) in Indonesia, young monkeys were housed in these barren metal cages, totally inappropriate for their needs. Primates require a complex, stimulating environment for their psychological well-being At one primate supply company, monkeys were kept in small pens with smooth walls and floor. The monkeys had no place to climb or hide and could only hang from the ceiling by their limbs. This would be stressful for them in addition to the stress experienced as a result of captivity and confinement. At Jakarta airport, BUAV investigators found monkeys kept in these stark conditions prior to being exported overseas to be used in experiments. Every year thousands of monkeys from Indonesia are exported around the world to countries such as the USA, Japan and China where they will suffer and probably die in research laboratories The BUAV investigation uncovered the misuse of important CITES codes that define the source of primates. Consequently wild primates such as these who are living and breeding freely in a natural environment are designated as captive-bred animals and exported for the international research industry. Wild-caught monkeys destined for the research industry were transported across Indonesia in these dilapidated wooden and wire crates. These crates were piled on top of each other in the back of an open truck. Snatched from the wild, these monkeys were crammed into small, make-shift wooden crates and transported from the trapping site. This method of transportation was carried out in a cruel way that would inflict further suffering on wild animals who were already stressed and bewildered by being removed from their homes and family groups. Wild monkeys were caught in bamboo traps like this one. The trap is primed with fruit such as bananas. As the monkey pulls on the bananas, the bamboo frame collapses trapping the monkeys inside. After capture, wild monkeys were held in cramped small wooden crates at dealers' premises. Such conditions would be extremely stressful for the monkeys and likely to cause ill health, injuries and even death.

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