Repatriation of illegal orangutans to go ahead under controversial circumstances

[Guest guest]

PRESS RELEASE

 

Repatriation of illegal orangutans to go ahead under controversial

circumstances

 

Bangkok, 20 November 2006 - It is only one more day to go before the

orangutans confiscated from a zoo in Bangkok are finally to be send back home.

After waiting over a thousand days or three years since the actual confiscation

the complete operation is still a controversial one.

 

A tired of waiting orangutan in Ratchaburi

 

 

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants (DNP) agreed to rreturn 48

out of 53 confiscated orangutans. It was said that 5 were

" donated " to the Chiangmai Night safari, a zoo similar to the place they were

initially rescued from. One of the chief-advisers of the night safari park is

the owner of the Bangkok based zoo that was ultimately never charged with the

illegal possession of the 53 apes.

 

Heavy protests from Indonesian based NGO's have followed upon this

decision. Thai Forestry Police officers are surprised with this decision and

have asked why not all are returned.

 

A team of veterinarians send by the Indonesian government to accommodate the

repatriation of the apes arrived on Saturday in Thailand but was not able to

check on the health of the apes, therefore creating a potential dangerous

situation, as there is

no proof the animals are healthy enough to travel the exhausting 24 hour

journey.

 

The team is also not allowed to handle the apes moving them in to the

specially designed moving cages provided by the Borneo Orangutan Survival

Foundation (BOSF) and the Wildlife Friends Foundation in Thailand (WFFT).

Besides this the cages have been modified by the DNP staff, removing stickers

and markings on all enclosures as they

feel no NGO's or other government agencies should get any credit for the

repatriation.

Stickers of the Indonesians Forestry Department, BOSF, WFFT as well as the Thai

Forestry Police who were instrumental in the legal case were removed. The

on-purpose build metal and aluminum moving cages which have a value of over

6000,000 baht, are property of the

BOSF and have been provided free of charge to accommodate the repatriation as

the DNP has said they could not supply such moving enclosures.

 

The Indonesian government in cooperation with the BOSF will late on Tuesday

night load the apes into a specially chartered Military aircraft owned by the

Indonesian Navy. The plane will take off at 03:30 hours sending back the apes to

Borneo with a short stop-over

in Jakarta where the Indonesian First Lady will welcome the apes back home.

 

schedule for repatriation

 

 

 

21-11 09:00 Arrival Indonesian officials at Kao

Prathapchang

 

-apes get fed properly, check

behavior.

 

-prepare medication, sedatives.

 

14:00 Start with immobilization of the larger

apes.

 

15:00 Start moving smaller apes in to moving

enclosures.

 

Number the cages; mark the

Hepatitis-B cages.

 

16:00 Start loading trucks for road

transport.

 

17:00 Exit Kao Prathapchang.

 

17:00-20:00 Road trip KPC to Military airbase with

Police convoy

 

20:00 Arrival Military airbase, unload cages

by our team

 

20:30-21:00 Handout of small snacks to apes, check

water provisions, cleaning

 

21:00-02:30 Silence at cage area, rest for the apes.

 

 

 

22-11 02:30 Start preparations for loading, cage

checks, water provisions.

 

-load the cages

 

03:30 Take off.

 

12:00 Arrival Jakarta airport (Halim)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The moving cages at Kao Prathapchang Wildlife breeding center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edwin Wiek

WFFT

 

Rep BOSF

 

edwin.wiek

 

Tel +66-8-90600906