The Jakarta City Hall was the scene of quite a peculiar sight today as around a dozen protesters dressed in colorful animal costumes demanded better treatment of animals in the capital city.
The protesters, from animal rights activists group Scorpion Wildlife Trade Monitoring Group, were specifically demanding that Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and the Jakarta provincial government close down the Jatinegara wildlife market in East Jakarta, which is infamous for its illegal wildlife trade.
“Every day we can see cruelty towards wild animals that are locked up in small cages without water,” said Marison, a protester, as quoted by Kompas today.
In their latest report, Scorpion Wildlife Trade Monitoring Group estimated that there are approximately 2,300 illegal wild animals on sale in the Jatinegara wildlife market, made up of around 2,000 exotic birds and other animals like long-tailed macaques, civets, turtles, and snakes.
Governor Ahok, while acknowledging that illegal wildlife trade should be stamped out, has not yet fully committed to the protesters’ demand.
“I haven’t received reports [about Jatinegara wildlife market], but for sure [illegal wildlife trade] is forbidden,” he said.
Jatinegara is hardly the only illegal wildlife market in Jakarta. A study released last year by the wildlife advocacy group Traffic found that some 19,000 birds and other wildlife were being sold in Jakarta’s three major wildlife markets: Barito, Jatinegara and Pramuka. All three remain open to this day.
