Slow lorises may be incredibly cute, but they are also an endangered species due to the loss of their natural habitat and the wildlife trade. Despite being a protected species in Indonesia, slow lorises are often sold as pets to collectors here, who often forcibly remove their teeth to make them safer to play with.
Fortunately, the Jakarta Police was able to put a stop to the sale of eight slow lorises in the capital, after they traced a Facebook posting advertising the wide-eyed primates.
The Sub-Directorate of Environmental Resources at the Jakarta Police’s Special Criminal Investigation Directorate arrested three suspects recently, identified by their initials ARM, FS, and SP at separate places throughout Jakarta.
The head of public relations for the Jakarta Police, Setiyono Awi, said an investigation was started after a cyber patrol came upon a Facebook post from a user named Sendy Lah which showed eight Javan slow loris in cages.
The ad said the animals were healthy and docile and were available for a low price.
Awi said the brains behind operation was SP, a local univesity student who was coordinating the purchase and sale of the protected animals. ARM and FS were his accomplices. They had started the business about a month previously.
“The lorises offered were offered to lemur connoisseurs, and the lorises were obtained from a hunter outside Java that has also been secured,” said Commissioner Dedi Anung of the police’s environmental crimes investigative unit as quoted by Tribunnews.
For their actions, the three suspects will be charged under the 1999 law on the Preservation of Plants and Animals and could face 2-3 years jail time.
