ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The activities of the United States (US) importing long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) from Indonesia were revealed by Action for Primates, a UK-based non-human primate advocacy project.
Action for Primates, urges the US to stop this activity.
Action for Primates reports that as many as 1,402 long-tailed macaques captured from the wild in Indonesia were imported by the US research and testing industry during 2023.
“This information was revealed following a Freedom of Information request submitted to US authorities, which revealed this in 2023,” wrote an Action for Primates press release quoted Monday, March 11 2024.
Detailed data on imports carried out by the United States, namely 322 individuals on May 17, 540 individuals on May 31 and 540 individuals on December 27. All of them are caught in the wild.
“This number has increased by almost 40 percent since 2022, when the US imported 870 wild-caught long-tailed macaques and 120 captive-bred long-tailed macaques,” said a release from Action for Primates.
In 2021, the Indonesian government allowed the capture and export of wild long-tailed macaques to resume. This occurs despite widespread global concern regarding the inhumane practices of trapping wild monkeys and increasing awareness of the vulnerability of the species’ conservation status.
Since the resumption of capture in the wild, the conservation status of long-tailed macaques has been upgraded to endangered with a declining population trend based on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of Threatened Species.
Action for Primates has previously released harrowing video footage of the capture of wild long-tailed macaques in Indonesia which provides compelling evidence of the cruelty of the trappers and the suffering and distress the monkeys endure.
Action for Primates said this included brutal arrest methods, the forced separation of breastfeeding babies from their mothers, and the beating and killing of unwanted persons. Such cruel treatment is a clear violation of international animal welfare guidelines.
Sarah Kite, co-founder of Action for Primates, said Action for Primates urges the Indonesian government to end the capture, breeding and export of macaques for the research and testing industry, and to provide protection to the native long-tailed macaque population.
“We also call on the US government to distance itself from this extreme cruelty by banning all imports of monkeys from Indonesia,” Sarah said in a written statement.
Sarah said long-tailed monkeys are native to Indonesia, which are part of the ecosystem, thus contributing to the country’s unique biodiversity.
However, this species is not protected by Indonesian law, so capture and export for the global research and testing industry is a threat to its population.
Apart from that, he said, hunting is done for consumption, pets for tourism and entertainment activities.
If you refer to the Decree of the Director General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Number: SK 1/KSDAE/KKHSG/KSA.2/1/2023 concerning Quotas for the Collection of Natural Plants and Capture of Wild Animals for the 2023 Period, there is no quota listed for the export of long-tailed macaques. (AT Network)
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