Confiscation
The prisoners are released
It is illegal to keep orangutans as pets in Indonesia. Non-authorized trade and export of orangutans is illegal in the entire world according to the CITES treaty. When police or customs become suspicious that there might be an illegally captured orangutan being transported they will send a specially trained unit to investigate.
Most captured orangutans can be found within Indonesia. They turn up not only in Borneo and Sumatra but also quite often in Java and Bali, where it is considered a sign of prestige to be able to afford such a ‘pet’.
There is a special branch under the forestry authorities that has the responsibility to confiscate captured orangutans. As a first measure the owners are asked to hand over the orangutan to the authorities. If they refuse police are called to the site.
It is a punishable offense to keep an orangutan at home, but it is unfortunately very rare that the consequences are anything more than a warning or a fine to be paid on site. Many owners actually try to get the authorities to pay the market value before the return the orangutans. The biggest problem in this situation is that people who keep orangutans as pets are quite often politically powerful and relatively well off financially. Bribes are not uncommon.
The confiscation generally happens in collaboration with an established rehabilitation center,such as Nyaru Menteng or Wanariset, both operated by BOS. A veterinarian and a number of experienced co-workers from the center are brought along for the confiscation in order to ensure the best possible treatment of the animal throughout the entire process.
Bornean orangutans from Central and Easter Kalimantan are accepted in BOS rehabilitation centers. Other orangutans need to go to other centers based on their DNA. Sumatran orangutans are not mixed with Borneans. This division is carefully adhered to in order to ensure that the two subspecies are not genetically mixed. Nor are different genetic types of Borneans mixed together. DNA testing is the key to getting the orangutans back where they belong– from where they or their parents were illegally removed. While illegal owners may not know the origin of their orangutans– or at least may claim not to– the DNA does not lie.
