Indonesian police shut down Facebook page, charge man with selling exotic animals

Indonesian police have arrested a man, accusing him of selling endangered animals through a Facebook page.

The Yogyakarta City Police Cyber ​​Patrol found a Facebook page selling the animals without a permit, Indonesian news site Tempo reported.

“After investigating, the suspect was in the town of Semarang, then we coordinated with (the region’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency) to arrest the suspect,” said Commissioner Andhyka Donny Hendrawan, chief of Yogyakarta City Police Criminal Investigation Unit.

On October 15, a week after discovering his alleged Facebook page, police arrested the 27-year-old suspect, identified only by the initials RD.

Authorities reportedly recovered 10 wild creatures from the suspect. The animals included seven slow Java lorises, small primates that look somewhat like lemurs; a binturong, a bushy arboreal animal known as a “bear cat” that resembles an otter; a saltwater crocodile and a 2.5ft Irian crocodile.

The animals were found to be healthy and transported to Gembira Loka Zoo. The zoo is a refuge for recreational animals as well as a conservation institution that assists in the rescue of wild animals, according to Indonesian news site Nusantarapol.com.

Police charged the suspect with violating the country’s codes associated with the conservation of natural resources and ecosystems. The criminal charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Untung Suripto, head of the Yogyakarta City Conservation Section, said Yogyakarta is the Indonesian city most frequently linked to illegal online trade in protected wildlife.

“The police were also able to find most of them,” he said.

The slow java loris is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This means that the animal is very likely to become extinct in the near future. Poachers hunt the animal for its popularity among collectors of exotic animals and for its mythical medicinal properties in folk medicine.

The binturong is also poached as an exotic pet. He is also killed for his fur and flesh in the food trade, according to Animal Network. The slow-moving Binturong and Javanese lorises are also endangered due to habitat loss caused by deforestation.

Both saltwater and Irian crocodiles are still abundant in the wild, according to the IUCN.

The illegal wildlife trade involves billions of dollars internationally, according to experts at TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. Many countries lack strong national laws, appropriate sanctions or enforcement mechanisms to stop illegal wildlife trade within their borders, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

News week contacted WWF for comment.