by Hotli Simanjuntak for The Jakarta Post
Activists from the Aceh Orangutan Forum (FORA) have called on the government to take stern measures against people who keep orangutans as pets in a bid to save the endangered species in the region.
According to FORA, around 220 illegally owned orangutans in Aceh have been rescued over the last 10 years, mostly from civilians. The orangutans now live in a quarantine center in Sibolangit, North Sumatra.
“Of hundreds of pet orangutan cases, only one or two of them have been brought to justice,” FORA coordinator Ratno Sugito said during an orangutan campaign, which was held on World Orangutan Day on Aug. 19.
Ratno blamed weak law enforcement for failing to take action against rampant illegal orangutan trapping and thus deter its practice.
This excerpt from a news articles appeared in and is courtesy of The Jakarta Post and can be read in its entirety here.
