ORANGUTAN ODYSSEYS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 007146

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR OES/PCI/ACOVINGTON and OES/ETC/DGRIER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV AORC PREL XC
Ref: A. BANGKOK 7802(05) B. BANGKOK 3798(05)

SUBJECT: ORANGUTAN ODYSSEYS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

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1. Summary: A new wildlife anti-trafficking law enforcement
network, the ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN)
established by ASEAN member countries in December 2005 shows that
governments in Southeast Asia are beginning to pay more attention to
the multi-billion dollar illegal wildlife trade (Ref A). However,
the following accounts of the fate of illegally trafficked
orangutans in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia demonstrate
that governments in the region often still fail to take the problem
seriously. Although all the ASEAN countries have acceded to the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES),
which bans trade in orangutans, traffickers, importers, and
politically-connected individuals who profit from the illegal
orangutan trade continue to flaunt their activities with impunity.
End summary.

Swift Action in Viet Nam...
--------------

2. In early July, a European couple staying at the Thanh Canh Hotel
in Vietnam's Binh Duong Province near Ho Chi Minh City called an
animal protection hotline run by a Vietnamese NGO, Wildlife at Risk
(WAR),after seeing two young orangutans at a private zoo at the
hotel. WAR's Dao Van Hoang informed the provincial forest police,
and early in the morning of July 11, they raided the hotel and
confiscated the orangutans.


3. Vietnamese authorities immediately notified the Government of
Indonesia, where they believed the apes had originated. Indonesia
sent Edwin Weik and Cheryl MacPherson of the NGO Borneo Orangutan
Survival Foundation (BOSF) to Vietnam to inspect the animals and
oversee their repatriation. Dao Van Hoang told the BOSF
representatives, "It took only two weeks since we found the
orangutans to complete all the necessary procedures to return them.
The swift action of the authorities is praiseworthy."

...But Slow Movement in Indonesia
--------------

4. On July 24, the animals were flown from Ho Chi Minh City to
Jakarta. Originally scheduled to be transported to Samboja Lestari
Orangutan Rehabilitation Center following a required 33-day
quarantine at facilities provided by Taman Safari International
(TSI, a private for-profit zoo located about 50 km from Jakarta),
four months later, the animals are still being held at the zoo. In
September, a consortium of international NGOs sent an open letter
requesting the Indonesian government to immediately transfer the
animals from TSI to the rehabilitation center.


5. Replying to an inquiry from Embassy Econoff on November 28, a
BOSF representative in Jakarta said the process had been delayed due
to lengthy administrative procedures at the Jakarta City Office of
Natural Resource Conservation and because of the Lebaran holidays in
October. She expected the transfer of the orangutans to take place
during the first week of December.


6. TSI generally gets high marks for its facilities and operates a
Sumatran Tiger Breeding Center as part of a global species survival
plan overseen by the World Conservation Union, but its website
advertises "entertaining and educational animal shows that we offer
highlighting... orangutans and other animals." Schools in
Indonesia were closed for the Lebaran holidays from October 23-29,
but TSI has held the animals from July 24 until now, raising
concerns about both the credibility of TSI and of Indonesia's
commitment to orangutan repatriation efforts.


7. Back in Vietnam, police continue the investigation of the Thanh
Canh Hotel owner, who has admitted that he paid the equivalent of
USD 12,500 for the two orangutans, but charges have yet to be filed
against him.

Unprecedented Numbers Repatriated from Thailand...
-------------- --------------

8. In Thailand, the Department of National Parks (DNP) took custody
of 57 orangutans from Safari World, a private, for-profit zoo in
Bangkok, in 2003. The owner of Safari World at first said the
orangutans were the offspring of the nearly 100 orangutans he had
procured legally before Thailand acceded to CITES in 1994. Later,
in July 2005, the Vice President of Safari World told Regional

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Environmental Officer (REO) that the 57 orangutans had been given to
the zoo by pet-owners who no longer wanted to keep them. He said
Safari World was performing a "public service" by taking care of the
apes (Ref B).


9. Seven weeks after REO's visit, the Safari World owner admitted
to Thai officials that he had obtained the animals illegally. On
the margins of the ASEAN-WEN meetings in Bangkok in April 2006, Thai
and Indonesian officials agreed to repatriate the animals to
Indonesia.


10. After several delays, repatriation finally occurred on November

22. Forty-eight apes were repatriated - an unprecedented number -
which required expensive and complex logistics, including the use of
an Indonesian Air Force C-130 transport plane and eight
veterinarians who accompanied the animals on the journey from Khao
Pratap Chang Wildlife Preserve 100 km southwest of Bangkok to Halim
Air Force Base in Jakarta to the BOSF Nyaru Menteng Orangutan
Rehabilitation Center on Borneo. Upon the apes' arrival at the
Halim airport, a welcome by First Lady Kristiani Herawati Yudhoyono,
the Minister of Forestry, the State Minister of Environment,
Thailand's ambassador to Indonesia, and other officials ensured
lavish media coverage and maximum political mileage.

...But Effort Marred by Ludicrous Loan of Apes to a Zoo
-------------- --------------

11. Inexplicably, five of the original 57 orangutans were not
repatriated because Thailand's DNP had "loaned" them to perform for
patrons of the Chiang Mai Night Safari. In addition, the remaining
four animals are reported to have died while in official custody at
Khao Pratap Chang Wildlife Preserve since October 2005.


12. On November 21, the deputy director of the Night Safari told
the Bangkok Post that the apes would be sent to Khao Pratap Chang
the following day. On November 27, however, the DNP confirmed to
REO by phone that the orangutans were still at the Night Safari in
Chiang Mai. On November 29, the Director of the DNP, Dr. Schwann
Tunhikorn, called REO to say that the five animals had arrived at
Khao Pratap Chang that morning, but that no date for repatriation to
Indonesia had yet been set. The Director expressed incredulity, as
well as some irritation, at the U.S. government's interest in the
matter.


13. Meanwhile, although the criminal case officially remains open
against Pin Kewkacha, the wealthy owner and CEO of Safari World who
reportedly has ties to high-level Thai politicians, there is no
indication that Thai prosecutors intend (or dare) to pursue the
matter further.

Phnom Penh Politician's Pet
--------------

14. In June, Cambodia's Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) rescued
an Orangutan being transported on a motorbike. The WRRT team
immediately brought the animal, which was very sick - unable to walk
and barely able to breathe - for veterinary treatment at the Phnom
Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center (PTWRC). Both WRRT and PTWRC are
supported in part by funds from USAID.

15. The PTWRC veterinarian along with a WRRT wildlife specialist
team provided the best medical care, but it was too late and the
animal died three days later. The autopsy showed severely damaged
lungs and completely blocked up intestines (due to inappropriate
feeding of rice).

16. Cambodian Member of Parliament Nhim Vanda, a government Senior
Minister and First Vice President of the National Committee for
Disaster Management, claimed ownership of the rescued orangutan and
said that the animal had been in the care of a veterinarian. It is
unclear how the MP came to possess the orangutan, but the animal had
been kept at his private zoo in Kampot for two months.

17. Although Cambodia's Director of Forestry Administration also
had confiscated two tigers from Vanda in 2000, no legal action can
be expected in this case. In fact, the Forestry Administration is
known to provide veterinary services and medicines to the Senator's
animals upon his request.
More Monkey Business in Cambodia
--------------

18. In July 2005, Koh Kong Safari World (affiliated with Koh Kong

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Duty Free Shop in Cambodia) paid nearly 57,000 USD in fines after
the Forestry Administration undertook an unprecedented prosecution
and judgment against the company for illegally importing 36
orangutans from Thailand. Despite the judgment and penalty,
however, the wealthy and politically-connected owner of Koh Kong
Safari World has been allowed to keep the orangutans and earn
profits from zoo patrons who pay to see them in kick-boxing,
skateboarding, and bicycle riding shows.


19. Note: Koh Kong imported 22 orangutans in 2003 and another 14 in

2004. NGO sources suspect that some or all of the 36 orangutans
came from Safari World in Bangkok. As evidence, they cite that Thai
police first raided Bangkok's Safari World in November 2003 and
found 110 orangutans. In a subsequent raid in July 2004, Thai
police found only 69 animals. Safari World officials at the time
claimed that the other 41 apes had died and their bodies had been
cremated!

Comment
--------------

20. Wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion dollar business in
Southeast Asia that not only threatens endangered species like the
orangutan, but also threatens governments through its corruptive
nature. Wildlife smugglers seldom go to court and rarely face jail
time or significant fines. The politically connected importers of
the illegal wildlife trade have even less to fear. Since
ASEAN-WEN's establishment, arrests and confiscations have increased
significantly, particularly in Thailand. The USG, which is already
closely engaged with ASEAN-WEN, can use that organization as the
means to help the countries of Southeast Asia live up to their
commitment to CITES by prosecuting and penalizing the traffickers,
including the procurers of smuggled animals, to the fullest extent
of their laws.
ARVIZU