If
it’s not pangolins in a freezer, it’s cockatoos in bottles. The horrors of the
illegal wildlife trade were once again revealed this week as Indonesian police
seized 21 critically endangered cockatoos found alive after being crammed into
plastic water bottles destined for the exotic pet market.
A
suspected wildlife smuggler believed to be responsible for the crime was caught
by harbour police at Tanjung Perak port in the city of Surabaya, where he was
found with two birds packed into jerry cans. According to Aldy Sulaiman, head
of the criminal investigation unit at the port, 21 yellow cockatoos and one
green parrot were retrieved in the bust after further investigation. The
animals were cut free by customs officials and handed over to Indonesia's
Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA).
"The
birds were still alive then but some were already very weak," Lily Djafar,
spokeswoman for the Tanjung Perak police, told CNN. It is believed that as many
as 11 of the birds later died as a result of the ordeal. The use of plastic
bottles for smuggling birds in not uncommon in this region of Indonesia, where
wildlife trafficking has become widespread.
Critically
endangered yellow cockatoos (Cacatua sulphurea) were among the birds retrieved
in the bust. Endemic to Indonesia and neighbouring East Timor, these birds are
severely threatened as a result of the booming pet trade and have disappeared
from much of their former range. “This cockatoo has suffered (and may continue
to suffer) an extremely rapid population decline, owing to unsustainable
trapping for the cagebird trade,” warns Birdlife International. Records reveal
that over 100,000 birds were trapped between 1980 and 1992 and the current
global population sits at fewer than 7,000 individuals.
"There's
a lot of demand for parrots and cockatoos in southeast Asia and Europe,"
global communications co-ordinator at Traffic International, Richard Thomas,
told CNN. "[The yellow-crested cockatoo is] a breed that is at very
serious risk because of excessive trafficking of wild populations."
Indonesia's
booming wildlife trade, coupled with extensive deforestation, means that the
future looks bleak for the animals that call these islands home. Species are
sold overseas not only to fuel demand for exotic pets, but also for their meat
and as ingredients in traditional medicine. Although conservation initiatives
are being implemented to increase protection of wild areas and ensure that
trade laws are properly enforced, the multi-million dollar wildlife trafficking
industry remains a very serious problem.
UPDATE:
Some reports are stating that the number of cockatoos seized is actually 23
(not 21 as previously believed). Public outcry has also prompted the Indonesian
government to set up shelters to accommodate cockatoo owners wanting to return
their pets to the wild.
Source
: earthtouchnews.com