Parrot Blogger - Charlie Moores
April 14 2009
Here, There, and Everywhere
by Charlie Moores
A review of Mira Tweti's excellent children's book
In mid-January, as part of the 'Parrot Month' theme on 10,000 Birds, my colleague Corey reviewed 'Of Parrots and People: The Sometimes Funny, Always Fascinating, and Often Catastrophic Collision of Two Intelligent Species' by Mira Tweti, a book - and a name - that none of the three of us at 10,000 Birds had come across before.
Corey emailed Mike and I several times to say how the book was affecting him before he wrote his review, which he ended with the paragraph, "I highly recommend this book to those who want to learn more about the horrible destruction humanity has wrought all in order to have pretty birds in cages. I imagine that this review might lead to a parront [parrot parent] or two commenting about how their birds are well-cared for, loved, and have plenty of enrichment but the fact is, unless their birds were rescued from neglectful or abusive situations, anyone who owns a parrot may well be complicit in a exploitative, harmful, and destructive industry that should be banned immediately, at least in this reviewer’s opinion."
Given the fact that Corey - just like Mike and I - had hardly given any thought to captive parrots and the parrot breeding industry in the past these were strong words and indicative of the impact of Of Parrots and People... (I've read it myself now and it's had the same effect on me - horror, sadness, frustration, even shame that as a birder for forty years I just didn't KNOW how intelligent parrots are, how we've mistreated so many of them, and how threatened many species have become...). I figured at the very least I should Google Mira and learn more about her.
I may not have heard of Mira before, but plenty of other people had. Aside from the personal details (she's married and divorced, has taken Buddhist vows, is petite and effervescent) Mira seemed to be a highly divisive person. Some people loved her and lauded her work (Dr Jane Goodall, DBE, for example), others spoke of her as a devil living in California spreading lies and misinformation with every swish of her forked tongue. What on earth was going on? By the end of our 'Parrot Month' theme I had my answer: if you were opposed to keeping parrots in cages and were pro-conservation you loved her, if you were part of the American Federation of Aviculture (on whose "About" web page comes the revealing quotation, "AFA has a membership consisting of bird breeders, pet bird owners, avian veterinarians, pet/bird store owners, bird product manufacturers, and other people interested in the future of aviculture") you most likely didn't.
I had discovered the chasm that lies between two opposing sides. On one stood the Mira Twetis and Stewart Metzs of the world, on the other stood the breeders. I started out trying to balance myself between the two, but gave that up the more I read and learnt about a subject I had been ignoring for decades.
Looking back now (and this is only January this year I'm talking about) I'm actually astonished that I was ever equivocal about the subject of keeping birds. I went vegetarian because of a profound dislike for the meat industry, its environmental impact, and its cruelty (flame me all you like, folks, but that's the truth of the matter), yet I was still somehow accepting that it was kind of okay to keep parrots in cages. Astonished, but at least I know the reason now: the pet bird industry has powerful and very vocal lobbyists and supporters who are as determined as the meat industry is to keep their point of view as 'the norm'. They've very good reason to. Breeding and selling birds is an industry worth billions of dollars worldwide, and it's worth money to keep the facts about trapping, smuggling, breeding conditions, and threats to wild bird populations very quiet indeed.
How did I not understand that parrots are as intelligent as our own young children? That they are emotional, and express joy, sadness, and loss? That breeders work with virtually no supervision or legislation (and cry about 'loss of freedom' whenever reasonable controls are suggested)? Because when I was growing up everyone kept a Budgie or wanted a Macaw, and there weren't people like Mira Tweti and books like "Here, There and Everywhere" to tell the other side of the story...
Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus, Sydney, Copyright Charlie Moores
I wish there had been, because she is a dedicated, committed, and inspirational person and this is an extraordinarily beautiful book which superbly captures the essence of what it's like to be a wild parrot (in this case a Rainbow Lory/Lorikeet with the name of Sreeeeeeeet) who plays, learns, and experiences everything we might want for own offspring if only we didn't live in cities and in such fear of our own neighbours, and who is then stolen from the Papuan forest and exported to the US.
The story that unfolds is in itself quite simple: the desperately sad Sreeeeeeeet is bought by a young boy, Peter, who sees him in a store and feels "like he is looking at the most beautiful creature in the world", takes him home to a New York apartment, and along with his parents gradually gets sick and tired of the squawking and the "pooping" (there's a lot of pooping in 'Here, There and Everywhere') and loses interest in him. Eventually, though, Peter finally sees "Sreeeeeeeet as an individual just like him and not as a pet with pretty feathers and a beak" and persuades his parents to release Sreeeeeeeet back in the Papuan forests he came from.
It's simple and, yes, it's unlikely that a wild Rainbow Lorikeet would be imported into the US now (though they're still widely trapped), and, yes, it's hard to imagine that permission would be given to return a captive Lorikeet to Papua from New York quite as easily as it is here - but that's hardly the point. This is allegory. It's a wonderfully-told story, a mix of fact (there are sections at the back of the book looking at Lorikeets, rescued parrots, and eg the Indonesian Parrot Project) and fiction, it's based on true events but doesn't claim to follow one bird's life, and that's how it should be read.
Don't read 'Here, There and Everywhere' as a manual, read it for what it is: a heartfelt, loving story that aims to and succeeds in making the reader think about where 'pet birds' come from, how they're still 'wild' even after years of confinement, how terribly uninformed so many of us are when we cross the threshold of a pet-store (as I did many years ago) and take home a bird we know virtually nothing about.
Seriously we should all read this book. And if we can't borrow it from a friend (or have it sent to us to review) then we should buy it. Why? Buy it because we all need the education; buy it because it's gorgeously designed and because the illustrations (by Lisa Brady) are stunningly beautiful, quirky, original, and so suit the text that it's hard to imagine one without the other; buy it because Dr Jane Goodall calls it "a masterpiece for children"; buy it because a percentage of the sales goes to parrot welfare and conservation organisations...
Buy it for whatever reason you want, but do buy it, especially if you have children because they will love it...and if by reading it they grow up questioning whether we ought to be keeping intelligent birds like these in cages as 'pets' or status symbols or just as something to brighten up a dull room then you'll have done a wonderful thing for them and for these beautiful, complex and wonderful birds.
'Here, There and Everywhere', written by Mira Tweti and illustrated by Lisa Brady, is published by Parrot Press (January 2008) on paper made from 10% flax, 40% recycled post consumer waste, and 50% sustainably harvested trees.
ISBN 13:978-0-615-17122-7
In addition to the book there is an exceptionally interesting website with much more information on parrots and parrot welfare at ParrotStory.com, where you can of course also place an order for 'Here, There and Everywhere'
- Views and opinions expressed in this review are the author's own and are not necessarily endorsed, supported or held by the World Parrot Trust -
Posted by Charlie Moores on 04/14 at 12:00 PM
April 06 2009
An interview with Tri Prayudhi, ProFauna Indonesia
by Charlie Moores
Mr Tri Prayudhi, ProFauna Indonesia’s Campaign Officer answers questions about conservation of Indonesian parrots
The Republic of Indonesia in Southeast Asia comprises a staggering 17,508 islands, about 6,000 of which are inhabited. It is the world's largest archipelagic state and with a population of 222 million people (according to 2006 figures) it is also the world's fourth most populous country.
Indonesia's size, tropical climate, and archipelagic geography, support the world's second highest level of biodiversity after Brazil. Its five largest islands - Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo), New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea), and Sulawesi - contain some of the world's rarest wildlife, and an almost overwhelming number of bird species many of which now find themselves on the wrong end of large-scale deforestation, industrialisation, and smuggling for the trade in wild birds. Putting that into figures Indonesia has close to 400 endemic birds: of these about sixty-one species are threatened: thirty-seven species are listed as Vulnerable, twenty-three are Endangered and eleven species are listed as Critical on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (a total of 132).
Included in that list are some of the world's rarest and most rapidly declining parrot species. Of about 85 parrot species in Indonesia, 14 of them are classified as threatened. Many of these species will probably be hardly known by many birders outside of the region, but they do include species such as the Red-and-blue and Black-headed Lories Eos histrio and Lorius lory, and some of the planet's rarest cockatoos, eg Palm Cockatoo Probosciger atterimus, Goffin's Cockatoo Cacatua goffini and the recently re-discovered Yellow-crested Abbott’s Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea abbottii which has a population of just ten wild indivduals.
One organisation working hard to protect the Republic's biodiversity is ProFauna Indonesia, and I'm very grateful to Mr Tri Prayudhi, ProFauna Indonesia’s Campaign Officer for the interview (which he answered in English and has very kindly translated into Indonesian as well!) and the copyrighted images that follow.
Charlie Moores: Tri Prayudhi, many thanks for talking to me today. You work for ProFauna Indonesia. Can I just ask first why you wanted to work for PFI (have you always been interested in animals for example) and whereabouts are you based?
- Tri Prayudhi: Yes, I work for ProFauna Indonesia. Previously, I was a ProFauna member who had worked voluntarily since 2001. I joined ProFauna when I was a student in a university in Sumatera. My interest in wild animal biodiversity encouraged me to get involved in an NGO that worked especially against cruelties to wild animals: illegal wildlife trade both domestic and international, and for consumption. To me who else but Indonesians should care, care and preserve Indonesian wildlife in their natural habitats. My work for ProFauna covers all Indonesia regions including Maluku and Papua that have natural habitats for parrots.
Charlie Moores: You live in a part of the world that I would guess not too many of our readers will have visited: if I asked you to describe the region in a few sentences could you, or is there just so many different sides to Indonesia that you'd need a few pages instead?
- Tri Prayudhi: Indonesia is a mega-biodiversity country. It is estimated that about 300,000 wild animals or 17% of the world animals inhabit Indonesia, despite Indonesia’s land being only 1.3% of the world’s. Indonesia has the largest number of mammals (515 species) and is inhabited by 1,539 bird species. 45% of the world’s fish species live in Indonesia’s waters. However, illegal wildlife trade becomes a huge threat towards wild animals survival in Indonesia. More than 95% of wild animals being traded are caught from the wilderness, instead of captive breeding. More than 20% of the traded animals die because of poor transportation and handling. Many protected and endangered species are traded freely in Indonesia. The more endangered the species are, the higher the prices get.
Charlie Moores: I would guess though that many of our readers would know of the huge problems of deforestation throughout Indonesia. From where you're sitting is there still much habitat to save?
- Tri Prayudhi: The main problem of wildlife in Indonesia is the deforestation causing the degradation of animal population in the wild, besides the poaching for illegal trade. Some areas in Indonesia still have good forests for preserving and saving wild animals, for examples: Halmahera, Maluku, Papua, Kalimantan, Sumatera, even Java. Deforestation is caused by forest conversion into palm plantation both in great and small scales as well as mining sites. This seems to be a dilemma. On one side, forest conversion provides the country’s financial needs and on the other, wild animals are threaten by extinction.
The Palm Oil industry next to and inside a major Indonesian National Park
Photo from Google Earth
Charlie Moores: Do you feel that the way the western world focusses on deforestation in Indonesia means that the amazing biodiversity that still remains and can still be saved gets overlooked at all?
- Tri Prayudhi: This is a complicated problem that needs wise and fair point of view. The facts have shown that Indonesia faces great deforestation threatening the biodiversity. This problem calls help from any stakeholder including the international world, since Indonesian forests contribute ecologically towards other countries in the whole world. Therefore, western countries should help Indonesia to save the forest and the remaining biodiversity. On the contrary, this can be complicated too as the western countries are involved in the palm oil plantation expansion in Indonesia that decimates the forests.
Charlie Moores: Let's turn to parrots if we may. Indonesia is an incredibly rich region for parrots: PFI works to preserve all of Indonesia's biodiversity of course, but how much of your/PFI's time would you say is spent trying to protect parrots?
- Tri Prayudhi: Since 1996, ProFauna has worked on parrots issue in Indonesia. ProFauna focuses on illegal parrot trade which threatens parrots’ survival in the wild. ProFauna works through campaigns, education, law enforcement (investigation), and rescue. ProFauna has gained some achievements regarding parrot issues: for example. the decreasing of parrot trade in Ternate, North Maluku (fallen by 80%). Nevertheless, ProFauna has to work harder to fight against the illegal parrot trade in other areas like in Papua and Java Islands.
A Red-and-blue Lory struggles to free itself from a glue trap.
Charlie Moores: The information on your website and the data you present on the threats to Indonesia's parrots are very alarming. You say, for instance, that "Approximately 115,000 parrots are trapped each year in the wild in Papua and Maluku, including the highly endangered Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger atterimus), Black headed Lory (Lorius lory) and Yellow Crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)." Where does data like this come from, and given the size of the region do you think this is possibly an under-estimate of the scale of the problem?
- Tri Prayudhi: Those data are our 2002 findings from the bird markets monitoring in Java as well as from the in-depth investigation in Papua and Maluku. In 2001, ProFauna assigned its investigators to monitor the parrot trafficking in a sea port in Ternate, Maluku. ProFauna recorded the data every day for a year. Monitoring of bird markets in Java was conducted once a month. Bird market monitoring is ProFauna’s regular program that has been carried out from 1994 until present. However, we think that the figure is below the real condition because of Indonesia’s vast areas and the parrots wider distribution. This means that there is more parrot poaching and trafficking in the real situation which are not monitored and covered by ProFauna’s investigation.
Charlie Moores: You launched Pirated Parrots recently to further highlight the problem of the poaching of wild parrots. The figures you again quote are staggering and can't in any way be sustainable. Are you able to say that some species of Indonesian parrots are definitely being driven towards extinction by such poaching?
- Tri Prayudhi: Pirated Parrots is ProFauna’s investigation report that reveals the evidences of parrot poaching, trade, and smuggling to the Philippines. Based on the investigation, the species that are poached and smuggled are white Cockatoo (Cacatua alba), Chattering Lory (Lorius garrulus), Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus), and Violet-necked Lory (Eos squamata). Eclectus parrot is a protected species in Indonesia which is prohibited to be traded [See a recent ProFauna press-release HERE about the successful foiling of the smuggling of six wild Eclectus Parrots].
Red-and-blue Lory crammed into a plastic bottle by a bird trapper
Charlie Moores: What can be done to halt poaching on this scale?
- Tri Prayudhi: The most important way to tackle this is through law enforcement. In doing this, ProFauna has always been urging the government to publish a regional regulation to prohibit anyone poaching and carrying endemic parrots out from North Maluku. The regulation recommended by ProFauna should bear punishment both fine and prison terms for the offenders. Apart from this, ProFauna holds educational campaigns at remote schools in Ternate and Halmahera island, close to the forests of the parrot habitats, and public campaign in the form of demonstration demanding the government to conduct confiscation operations towards parrot traders, poachers, and dealers in Maluku, as well as in Surabaya and Jakarta, the centers of parrot trade in Indonesia.
Charlie Moores: Indonesia has a very large human population – many of whom are poor. How can you persuade poor people not to see parrots as a commodity or a resource to be traded or - perhaps - eaten?
- Tri Prayudhi: The local people who live adjacent to the parrots habitats usually have traditional or local regulations (literally and verbally) that won’t allow the people to catch and hunt birds for commercial purpose. Unfortunately, the capital economy law (supply and demand ) encourages the people to break the regulations. The bird prices in big cities and international world lure the local people to poach and trade the birds. In big cities and the international world, the more endangered a species is, the price get much higher. At the local level, the prices get lower since more people hunt and supply the birds. This means that local people stay poor. In order to raise the people awareness on this problem are by education, enforce the traditional or local regulation, and give alternative jobs for poor people that live close to the forests. As revealed by ProFauna investigation to the poachers living close to the forests, the main job of the locals is not poaching, poaching birds is just their side jobs. The main job is as a farmer. In dry season, the locals look for alternative jobs, on of which is by poaching birds, especially parrots. On other the other side, people keep poaching because there is a demand from the illegal market.
Charlie Moores: Does the answer to protecting Indonesia's parrot need to come from within Indonesia itself or does international pressure help as well?
- Tri Prayudhi: The illegal parrot trade in Indonesia is not only to supply the domestic market but also the international one. The international support must be had. One of the international pressures needed is to ban the trade in Indonesian endemic species at international market. By doing so, the trade of Indonesian parrots will be closed down. If there is no demand from the international market, there will be no more illegal supply of Indonesian parrots. For example, the Pirated Parrots report has shown the evidences that 49% of 10,000 parrots are smuggled to the Philippines each year. Arriving at the Philippines, Indonesian parrots were freely sold. Moreover, the birds were labeled as captive bred. The latest news in January 2009, the smuggling of 93 parrots and some other wild animals from Tobelo, Halmahera Island, North Maluku to Davao, Philippines.
Wild parrots being held by a bird dealer
Charlie Moores: How important is working with international groups such as the World Parrot Trust, Born Free, and the RSPCA International to you?
- Tri Prayudhi: To tackle the illegal wildlife trade needs international support. ProFauna considers it important to work together with international organisations that have the same visions with ProFauna.
Charlie Moores: Indonesia will seem a long way from many of our readers, but I'm sure some of them will want to support your work. What could they do to help?
- Tri Prayudhi: Don’t buy Indonesian parrots as pets because most of them are caught from the wild, instead of captive bred. Help ProFauna in any way. However small it is, a donation will be valuable for ProFauna to save wildlife in Indonesia.
Indonesian cockatoos in Manila's wildlife market
Charlie Moores: Tri Prayudhi, many thanks for the very valuable work you do and all the best to you and ProFauna Indonesia for 2009.
ProFauna Indonesia is a non-government organisation working for the protection of wild animals and their habitat. Formerly known as KSBK, it was established in Malang City, East Java in 1994 and has offices in Jakarta and Bali, with members throughout the country. ProFauna is the only animal protection organisation in Indonesia which has a membership system, with members making a significant contribution to voluntary activities and enabling the organisation, despite limited staff, to achieve a great deal more than otherwise would be possible.
WAWANCARA DENGAN PROFAUNA INDONESIA
Charlie Moores: Tri Prayudhi, terima kasih anda mau berpartisipasi dalam Bulan 10.000 Burung Nuri dan Kakatua. Anda bekerja untuk ProFauna Indonesia. Apakah alasan anda untuk bekerja dengan ProFauna Indonesia (misalnya karena anda selalu tertarik dengan satwa) dan di daerah mana saja wilayah kerja anda?
- Tri Prayudhi: Ya saya bekerja untuk ProFauna Indonesia. Sebelumnya saya adalah anggota ProFauna yang bekerja secara sukarela sejak tahun 2001. Saya bergabung dengan ProFauna saat masih menjadi mahasiswa di sebuah universitas yang ada di Sumatera. Ketertarikan saya pada keragaman satwa liar di Indonesia merupakan hal yang mendorong saya untuk terjun lebih dalam di dunia NGO, khususnya menentang perlakuan kejam terhadap satwa liar, baik itu yang ditangkap untuk diperdagangkan, dikonsumsi maupun untuk diselundupakan ke luar Indonesia. Bagi saya, siapalagi kalau bukan orang Indonesia yang peduli dan bisa menyelamatkan serta melakukan upaya pelestarian satwa liar Indonesia. Wilayah kerja kegiatan yang saya lakukan untuk ProFauna adalah wilayah Indonesia secara keseluruhan, termasuk di Maluku dan Papua yang menjadi habitat parrot.
Charlie Moores: Anda tinggal di negara yang saya pikir mungkin hanya sedikit pembaca kami yang pernah mengunjungi Indonesia. Dalam beberapa kalimat saja, bagaimana anda menggambarkan Indonesia? Atau, apakah anda barangkali butuh beberapa lembar halaman untuk menjelaskan berbagai sisi dari Indonesia?
- Tri Prayudhi: Indonesia adalah negara di Asia Tenggara, terletak di garis khatulistiwa dan berada di antara benua Asia dan Australia serta antara Samudra Pasifik dan Samudra Hindia. Karena letaknya yang berada di antara dua benua, dan dua samudra, ia disebut juga sebagai Nusantara (Kepulauan Antara). Terdiri dari 17.508 pulau, Indonesia adalah negara kepulauan terbesar di dunia. Dengan populasi sebesar 222 juta jiwa pada tahun 2006, Indonesia adalah negara berpenduduk terbesar keempat di dunia. Indonesia merupakan salah satu Negara yang memliki keragaman spesies satwa liar dan tumbuhan, Diperkirakan sebanyak 300.000 jenis satwa liar atau sekitar 17% satwa di dunia terdapat di Indonesia, walaupun luas Indonesia hanya 1,3% dari luas daratan dunia. Indonesia nomer satu dalam hal kekayaan mamalia (515 jenis) dan menjadi habitat dari sekitar 1539 jenis burung. Sebanyak 45% ikan di dunia, hidup di Indonesia. Meskipun kaya, namun sayangnya Indonesia dikenal juga sebagai negara yang memiliki daftar panjang tentang satwa liar yang terancam punah. Saat ini jumlah jenis satwa liar Indonesia yang terancam punah adalah 147 jenis mamalia, 114 jenis burung, 28 jenis reptil, 91 jenis ikan dan 28 jenis invertebrata (IUCN, 2003). Satwa-satwa tersebut benar-benar akan punah dari alam jika tidak ada tindakan untuk menyelamatkanya. Perdagangan satwa liar menjadi ancaman serius bagi kelestarian satwa liar Indonesia. Lebih dari 95% satwa yang dijual di pasar adalah hasil tangkapan dari alam, bukan hasil penangkaran. Lebih dari 20% satwa yang dijual di pasar mati akibat pengangkutan yang tidak layak. Berbagai jenis satwa dilindungi dan terancam punah masih diperdagangkan secara bebas di Indonesia. Semakin langka satwa tersebut semakin mahal pula harganya.
Charlie Moores: Menurut saya, para pembaca majalah kami sudah mengetahui masalah besar tentang deforestasi di seluruh Indonesia. Di daerah tempat anda tinggal sekarang, apakah masih ada cukup habitat untuk bisa diselamatkan?
- Tri Prayudhi: Permasalahan utama dalam peletarian satwa liar di Indonesia adalah deforestasi hutan yang mengakibatkan menurunnya populasi satwa liar di alam, selain perburuan untuk diperdagangkan. Di beberapa wilayah di Indonesia masih memiliki hutan yang cukup baik untuk upaya pelestarian dan penyelamatan satwa liar seperti di Pulau Halmahera, Maluku, Papua, Kalimantan, Sumatera bahkan Jawa. Deforestasi ini diakibatkan oleh pembukaan lahan perkebunan baik perkebunan sawit skala besar, maupun perkebunan skala kecil yang dibuka oleh masyarakat , HPH,Maupun pertambangan. Ini sebuah dilema bagi Negara Indonesia karena di satu sisi bagi Negara Indonesia ini merupakan sumber ekonomi, pemasukan devisa Negara, namun disisi lain satwa liar yang menjadi ancaman menuju kepunahan!
Charlie Moores: Apakah menurut anda sikap negara-negara barat berlebihan untuk fokus menangani masalah deforestasi di Indonesia, yang bisa diartikan bahwa masih banyak keanekaragaman hayati di Indonesia dan masih bisa diselamatkan?
- Tri Prayudhi: Masalah ini adalah masalah yang kompleks, harus disikapi dengan bijaksana dan adil. Fakta memang menunjukan bahwa hutan di Indonesia mengalami degradasi hebat dan mengancam keanekaragaman hayati yang ada. Ini perlu perhatian dari semua pihak termasuk masyarakat internasional, karena hutan di Indonesia juga memberikan kontribusi ekologi terhadap negara lain. Dengan demikian negara barat juga harus turut membantu Indonesia dalam menyelamatkan hutan dan keanekaragaman hayati yang tersisa. Ini jadi rumit karena negara barat juga turut andil dalam perluasan kelapa sawit di Indonesia yang menggerus hutan.
Charlie Moores: Sekarang beralih ke masalah nuri dan kakatua. Indonesia merupakan negara yang kaya akan burung nuri dan kakatua. ProFauna tentunya bekeja untuk menyelamatkan seluruh kenaekaragaman hayati yang ada di Indonesia tentunya. Akan tetapi, menurut anda, seberapa banyak waktu yang diberikan oleh ProFauna Indonesia untuk melindungi burung nuri dan kakatua?
- Tri Prayudhi: Sejak tahun 1996 ProFauna telah bekerja pada isu parrot di Indonesia. ProFauna fokus pada isu perdagangan parrot ilegal yang kini menjadi ancaman serius bagi kelestarian parrot di alam. ProFauna bekerja melalui pendekatan kampanye, edukasi, law enforcement dan investigasi. Ada beberapa kesuksesan program ProFauna di isu parrot ini, seperti telah menurunnya perdagangan parrot di Ternate, Maluku Utara sampai 80%. Namun masih perlu perjuangan lebih keras lagi untuk melawan perdagangan parrot ilegal di tempat-tempat lain seperti di Papua dan juga Jawa.
Charlie Moores: Informasi dan data yang ada di website anda tentang ancaman terhadap nuri dan kakatua sangat mengejutkan. Disebutkan bahwa "Sekitar 115,000 nuri dan kakatua ditangkap dari alam Papua dan Maluku setiap tahunnya, termasuk spesies yang terancam punah seperti Kakatua Raja (Probosciger atterimus), nuri kepala hitam (Lorius lory) dan kakatua jambul kuning (Cacatua galerita)." Dari mana data ini diperoleh? Karena luas Papua dan Maluku yang begitu besar apakah menurut anda data yang diperoleh ini kemungkinan masih dibawah angka yang terjadi sebenarnya?
- Tri Prayudhi: Data-data tersebut adalah data tahun 2002 yang kami peroleh berdasarkan hasil monitoring pasar burung yang ProFauna lakukan di sejumlah pasar burung di Jawa dan juga investigasi mendalam di Papua dan Maluku. Pada tahun 2001 ProFauna menempatkan orang untuk memantau keluar masuknya parrot di pelabuhan yang ada di Ternate Maluku Utara. Kami memantau setiap hari selama setahun. Sedangkan pemantuan di pasar-pasar burung yang di Jawa dilakukan setiap sebulan sekali dan ini telah kami lakukan sejak tahun 1994 hingga sekarang. Angka tersebut bagi kami masih belum lengkap karena luasnya wilayah secara geografis dan penyebaran parrot di beberapa wilayah di Indonesia. Hal ini berarti masih dimungkinkan adanya penangkapan dan penampung parrot di wilayah yang tidak kami monitoring atau tercakup dalam investigasi ProFauna.
Charlie Moores: Anda baru-baru ini meluncurkan Pirated Parrots untuk menunjukkan masalah perburuan nuri dan kakatua di alam. Angka yang anda sebutkan dalam peluncuran tersebut sungguh mengejutkan dan tentu saja hal ini mengancam keberlangsungan nuri dan kakatua di alam. Apakah anda bisa menyebutkan spesies apa saja yang terkena dampak kepunahan dari perburuan ini?
- Tri Prayudhi: Hasil investigasi ProFauna yang berjudul Pirated Parrots merupakan laporan investigasi penagkapan, perdagangan dan penyelundupan parrot ke Philipina. Berdasarkan hasil investigasi tersebut, jenis-jenis yang ditangkap diantaranya adalah. Kakatua putih (Cacatua alba), kesturi ternate (Lorius garrulus), bayan (Eclectus roratus) dan nuri kalung ungu (Eos squamata). Bayan adalah jenis burung yang telah dilindungi di Indonesia yang semestinya tidak boleh diperdagangkan.
Charlie Moores: Apa yang harus dilakukan untuk menghentikan perburuan dalam skala besar seperti ini?
- Tri Prayudhi: Upaya yang terpenting adalah melakukan penegakan hukum. Saat ini langkah yang ProFauna lakukan adalah mendorong pemerintah daerah untuk membuat regulasi secara lokal (Perda) mengenai larangan membawa dan menangkap jenis-jenis burung nuri dan kakatua serta jenis endemik lainnya ke luar Maluku Utara. Regulasi yang ProFauna usulkan adalah adanya ancaman berupa sanksi hukuman baik denda maupun tahanan bagi pelanggaran aturan tersebut. Selain itu ProFauna juga melakukan kampanye dalam bentuk edukasi ke sekolah-sekolah di pedalaman Ternate maupun Halmahera. Serta kampanye publik yang mendorong pemerintah untuk melakukan operasi penangkapan terhadap para pedagang, penangkap dan penampung burung nuri dan kakatua, baik itu di Maluku maupun di Surabaya dan Jakarta sebagai pusat perdagangan parrot di Indonesia.
Charlie Moores: Indonesia memiliki populasi manusia yang besar, dan kebanyakan adalah penduduk miskin. Bagaimana anda bisa mempengaruhi penduduk miskin agar tidak memandang nuri dan kakatua sebagai barang dagangan atau barangkali untuk dimakan?
- Tri Prayudhi: Masyarakat di pedalaman yang bersinggungan dengan habitat burung nuri dan kakatua biasanya adalah masyarakat lokal yang memiliki aturan adat, dimana aturan adat tersebut telah melarang penangkapan dan perburuan burung untuk kepentingan komersil, baiksecara lisan maupun tertulis. Sayangnya hukum ekonomi capital (supply demand ) mendominasi, dimana permainan harga pasar di kota-kota besar baik lokal maupun international lebih berkuasa. Untuk seekor burung yang jenisnya langka akan harganya mahal. Sementara di tingkatan lokal, semakin banyak masyarakat yang menangkap burung maka harganya semakin murah, yang artinya masyarakat akan tetap miskin. Salah satu hal yang harus dilakukan agar masyarakat tidak tergiur terhadap permintaan pasar adalah melakukan edukasi, dan penguatan aturan adat serta memberikan alternatif mata pencaharian bagi masyarkat miskin yang tinggal di sekitar kawasan hutan. Berdasarkan hasil investigasi ProFauna pada masyarkat penangkap burung di pedalaman menunjukkan bahwa pekerjaan penangkap burung adalah bukan pekerjaan utama masyarakat dan hanya merupakan pekerjaan sampingan. Pekerjaan utama mereka adalah sebagai petani. Pada saat musim kering, masyarakat akan mencari pekerjaan alternatif untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidup mereka, salah satu pekerjaan yang bisa mereka lakukan adalah dengan menangkap burung, di samping permintaan akan burung tersebut di pasar juga tetap ada.
Charlie Moores: Apakah usaha perlindungan nuri dan kakatua di Indonesia harus dilakukan oleh bangsa Indonesia sendiri atau perlu tekanan dari dunia Internasional bisa membantu juga?
- Tri Prayudhi: Perdagangan nuri dan kakatua yang terjadi di Indonesia tidak hanya untuk pasar lokal. Penangkapannya juga digunakan untuk diselundupkan ke luar negeri. Pastinya dukungan internasional sangat diperlukan. Salah satu tekanan internasional yang harus dilakukan adalah larangan untuk memperdagangkan satwa asli Indonesia di pasar internasional. Dengan demikian, pasar perdagangan nuri dan kakatua asal Indonesia akan tertutup, tidak akan ada lagi permintaan, sehingga tidak ada lagi pasokan burung-burung illegal asal Indonesia yang masuk ke pasar internasional. Berdasarkan investigasi Pirated Parrots, burung-burung asal Indonesia sebanyak 49% dari nilai 10.000 ekor pertahun diselundupkan ke Philipina. Sesampai di Philipina, burung-burung tersebut bebas diperdagangkan. Bahkan burung-burung tersebut diberi label dan diklaim sebagai hasil penangkaran. Fakta terbaru di bulan Januari 2009, telah terjadi penggagalan penyelundupan dari sebuah kapal nelayan yang membawa 93 ekor nuri dan kakatua serta jenis satwa liar lainnya dari Tobelo, Pulau Halmahera, Maluku Utara ke Davao, Philipina.
Charlie Moores: Seberapa pentingkah bagi anda untuk bekerja dengan organisasi internasional seperti World Parrot Trust, Born Free, and the RSPCA-International?
- Tri Prayudhi: Dalam menangani perdagangan satwa liar perlu kerja sama internasional. ProFauna memandang sangat penting untuk menjalin hubungan dan kerja sama dengan organisasi-organisasi internasional yang mempunyai tujuan sama dengan ProFauna.
Charlie Moores: Indonesia terkesan negara yang cukup jauh bagi pembaca kami, tetapi saya yakin bahwa sebagian pembaca kami dapat membantu anda. Bantuan dalam bentuk apa yang bisa mereka berikan?
- Tri Prayudhi: Jangan membeli dan memelihara parrot asal Indonesia karena parrot asal Indonesia sebagain besar adalah hasil tangkapan dari alam. Bantu ProFauna dalam bentuk apapun, bahkan donasi yang kecil sekalipun akan sangat berguna dan bermanfaat bagi ProFauna untuk melestarikan satwa liar Indonesia.
Charlie Moores: Tri Prayudhi, terima kasih banyak atas pekerjaan anda yang mulia, doa yang terbaik untuk anda dan ProFauna Indonesia di tahun 2009.
ProFauna Indonesia is a non-government organisation working for the protection of wild animals and their habitat. Formerly known as KSBK, it was established in Malang City, East Java in 1994 and has offices in Jakarta and Bali, with members throughout the country. ProFauna is the only animal protection organisation in Indonesia which has a membership system, with members making a significant contribution to voluntary activities and enabling the organisation, despite limited staff, to achieve a great deal more than otherwise would be possible.
Opinions expressed by either party in this interview do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the World Parrot Trust, and are not necessarily supported or endorsed by WPT
Posted by Charlie Moores on 04/06 at 02:27 AM
February 23 2009
Interview: Dr Stewart Metz of the Indonesian Parrot Project
by Charlie Moores
An interview with the dedicated 'parrot doc' of Indonesia
STEWART METZ, MD - Director of Indonesian Parrot ProjectProject Leader - Scientific Education, International Affairs & Grant Applications
Dr Stewart Metz has been a physician for 32 years, having served in capacities as a clinician, biomedical researcher, administrator, and teacher. He trained at Yale University (from which he graduated summa cum laude and Scholar of the House) and Yale Medical School, and was tenured Professor of Medicine at two major universities. He was Chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Head of the Diabetes Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is author or co-author of over 120 scientific publications, and uses his biomedical background to enhance both the Medical Initiative of the Seram Program, as well as the disease and laboratory testing aspects of the Wild Parrot Re-Release program.
He left the medical profession in 2001 out of a deep concern about the threat of extinction of some of the planet's most magnificent birds (especially the cockatoos of Indonesia), as well as the mistreatment of many of these creatures when sold into captivity.
Stewart is a frequent contributor to Companion Parrot Quarterly, PsittaScene, PARROTS Magazine and LaJoie.
Project Bird Watch and Indonesian Parrot Project
(Banner by Sparkling Hearts Sanctuary LLC.
Flying Moluccan cockatoo photos courtesy of Andrew Bradnan)
- SM: I was in university-based Internal Medicine for about 29 years. During the last 10 -12 years of that, I became increasingly interested in animals in the wild—after my first exposure to parrots, I became intensely interested in, and devoted to these awesome creatures. However we as a species sometimes mistreat parrots in captivity (albeit usually not deliberately) and on rarer occasions subject them to a life [or a death] which could be considered torture — all on our watch and under our stewardship. It’s almost impossible to walk away from their plight after it is recognized. It was really only a matter of time until I had to change my ‘work’.
I do often wonder “how” I got there in so far as making a decision that seemed almost never chosen by my colleagues — giving up a fairly-well-paying job, stability, and respect, for a volunteer position with little stability or ‘respect’ , at least by non-bird-people. But somehow, I know “this is why I’m here.”
- SM: The family of Parrots comprises creatures which are wondrous in their inherent traits. They are tremendously charismatic, often more so for the little-understood traits that most parrot-lovers don’t see, in addition to the “pet” qualities that endear them to so many people. Some of these less appreciated traits are scientifically the most fascinating - and so appeal to me as a former research scientist as well.
For me parrots represent a blend of the scientific and humanistic—of science and of art; of objective study and of subjective fascination and appreciation—of the heart and the mind. As a doctor and animal lover, it’s the perfect combination.
- SM: Yep, you’ve hit the nail on the head—I kinda sense some stereotype formation…
I think that the attitudes which would have to change would probably have to come in the classroom, and reinforced at home. Not in the deliberate sense of a course about parrots per se, but more to emphasize the unique, deeper, non-superficial traits which make parrots so charismatic to the parrot crowd (and this extends to some other bird families): intelligence, sentience, feelings, true communication (aside from “parroting’ of words)—all in contradistinction to focusing on their beauty, humor, parroting words, etc.
If the general public can champion the true wonder of parrots (and birds in general)--- if the AWE we express as children can be resurrected—if in essence, the ethical issue of dealing with treating inhumanely or even torturing intelligent creatures can be won, then there is a chance that we will take our blinders off and change our behaviour. And that the birds may make it to future generations.
- SM: Nope and I sometimes sense that some birders feel that parrots already get too much attention and help. I think there’s even some jealousy over funding levels or the interest which parrots generate, as opposed to little brown birds, by non-PARROT birders. It is also true of most non-birders in general.
| Three former bird trappers help the Author to micro-chip a Seram Cockatoo in preparation for release back into the Seram forest. Given such sustainable income these men stopped all trapping of cockatoos. Photo: Bonnie Zimmermann & Indonesian Parrot Project |
- SM: Each species and even race is different quantitatively, but there are usually elements of both qualitatively - trade is perhaps more important than habitat loss for C. moluccensis; but deforestation possibly more so for C. sulphurea citronocristata.
- SM: Again, it varies quantitatively. For C. moluccensis, the trade is deliberate and needed to put food on the table. Habitat loss [eg, farming] is also incidental in some places, and is now encroaching even into national parks. Where forest is lost for the illegal hardwood trade to foreigners (eg, China, US, UK, Japan, etc), it is also deliberate in the sense of for-the-sake of income-producing. There are other minor deliberate factors—practicing hunting by children, etc.
- SM: Unfortunately, people have found ways to exploit parrots in ways unrelated to the trade in psittacids as pets. They have been used by youngsters for target and hunting practice (I have been told) - Citron-crested Cockatoos on Sumba Island are supposedly still shot on such occasions. Unfortunately the use of Indonesian (and parrots of other provenances] as hunting targets was not unknown in more “developed” countries. In the mid-19th Century, a mixed flock which included Salmon-crested Cockatoos and other Indonesian species were released into the British countryside where they soon became quite well-naturalized. However, a number of these fell prey to British huntsman—attracted no doubt to their beauty and also their exotic and rare natures.
Additionally, parrots have been used as foodstuff in many regions of the world, especially during times of food shortage. Australians [including the explorer Cook himself] not uncommonly used them in “Parrot Pie”. Even earlier [16th Century ] explorers sometimes ate cockatoo meat. There is a long history of parrot feathers being used in decorative headdresses or other apparel or ceremonial banners. This is being recognized in New World Indian tribes. In the Indo-Australian region, Birds of Paradise feathers were far more valued in this regard than were parrots, but feathers from cockatoos, Pesquet’s Parrots, and lories/lorikeets are all used.
- SM: Definitely. The trapper earns only USD$5-25 for selling a Salmon-crested cockatoo, whereas at each step in the smuggling chain after that, the price rises steeply during transport and marketing of the birds. And if they’re caught any fines or sentences imposed are small in relation to what they earn? It’s a win-win situation…
Both the trappers and the middlemen rarely get more than a hand-slap, but the middlemen earn significant money. If the trapper “wins”, it’s not much—analogous to the situation re. illegal logging in Papua. I guess I am saying that it important to distinguish trapper from middleman or shipper from marketer from exporter.
- SM: If by that you mean the forest trapper, I’d probably say none. If you mean the poachers and marketers who are profiting from selling the birds obtained due to the poverty of the trappers, the sentence need to be harsher - and include some jail time - and sentences must be enforced if the goal is to stop the illegal wild bird trade.
- SM: They bring in money so I guess they could be called that. But of course I’d only favour “renewable” and humane resources like eco-tourism. In my ‘world’, this lets out trapping from the wild or eating . Obviously many disagree with such a ‘purist’ or one-sided view, ranging from trappers to dealers to parrot owners. In this schism, a major distinguishing feature between those that would utilize wild parrots as resource—and perhaps captive parrots as well—lies in the attention to self-interest relative to the amount of investment in the happiness and well-being of parrot(s). When I give talks concerning parrots or (of more frustration), when I am asked to give my opinion in a putative case of animal abuse involving parrots, I frequently hear the exuberant phrase used that “I really love Parrots!”. In my experience, it's those walking the extra mile [whether it be to put their parrots first even at the cost of some personal sacrifice or those who make a career of rescuing and helping parrots] who can legitimately say that they “love Parrots” [note the capital “P].
Some others, however, might be more accurate to say they “love THEIR parrots”—as manifested by pride in the birds’ beauty, cleverness, talkative abilities, rarity and in places such as Indonesia, even illegality of Possession. However, more often than not, “loving Parrots” is not manifest in contributions to their welfare and in fact, exposure to evidence of the ugliness of the illegal trade in wild parrots such as in a slide show not infrequently leads to protestation.
| This Salmon-crested Cockatoo was confiscated from a smuggler. The depths of the starvation inflicted is evidence by the marked distention of the keel bone and the dilatation of the crop; the intestine was filled with probable fungus and painted wood chips, which the starving bird had eaten. He died shortly thereafter. This is the true Face of the Illegal Wild Bird Market. Photo: S. Metz
For additional information about the Indonesian Parrot Project, see www.indonesian-parrot-project.org, or contact Dr Stewart Metz at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Opinions expressed by either party in this interview do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the World Parrot Trust, and are not necessarily supported or endorsed by WPT Posted by Charlie Moores on 02/23 at 03:09 PM February 17 2009 An Introductory post from a new WPT bloggerby Charlie Moores'Charlie who, what does he know about parrots, and why's he's blogging on the World Parrot Trust website?' Good questions all.. To start with the 'who': my name is Charlie Moores, I live in the UK, I'm forty-something (for a couple of more years anyway), and I'm an obsessive bird blogger who spends more time at the computer then can possibly be healthy (as my atrophying muscles are starting to remind me). I started my own blog about five years ago, which was mostly about traveling around the world (my 'day job' is working for an airline) and posting photos of birds my friends would never get to see (a touch petty-minded perhaps, but who's perfect?). In July 2007 I joined forces with two other bird bloggers based in New York (Mike Bergin and Corey Finger) and the extended, better-than-ever 10,000 Birds blog was born (I'm getting to the parrots soon so bear with me, please). 10,000 Birds has become a very popular read with over 1500 visitors a day, for which the three of us are very grateful, but more importantly it has meant that we are more able to pursue issues that were out of reach when we were fledgling bloggers with no audience - and the issue that I'm personally most interested in is conservation, specifically of birds and their habitats.
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