Nature Alert: Orangutans on death row

Saturday 22 May 2010

Orangutans on death row

Believe it or not 11 orangutans have lived in these cages for up to two years.

This is at the Sinka Zoo in NW Kalimantan, close to the border with Sarawak.

The worst sight I have ever seen, and in my time I've seen some horrific things done to animals. When I was there in February we did all we could at the time, providing fresh fruit and water. Since when, I have done all in my power to get help for these orangutans, but failed

so far. And last week I heard three of these poor orangutans have since died. I don't think anything has ever upset me so much.

The zoo has no vet and no curator, just a regular guy doing what he can and what he thinks is necessary for the animals.

There are many worse, close up photos, which I don't think I should show you.

Hall of Shame for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Palm Oil Industry.

Nothing can prepare one for the sight of the systematic extermination of orangutans by the government of Indonesia.

Look at the photos and news articles on these pages in the context of a statement the President made to the media on 10th December 2007.

“In the last 35 years about 50,000 orangutans are estimated to have been lost as their habitats shrank. If this continues, this majestic creature will likely face extinction by 2050,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the launch of an orangutan conservation plan at the climate talks in Bali.

“The fate of the orangutan is a subject that goes to the heart of sustainable forests … To save the orangutan we have to save the forest.”

Statements like these are most welcome, but unless backed up by action, such words fall on deaf ears within the Ministry of Forestry....who are busy granting licences to cut down the very forests the President says they should protect!

When you think you are to busy to help, please could you reflect for a moment on .........

The following extract refers to environmental problems in general. I just hope you find it as thought provoking and relevant to orangutans as I have.

"This is such a shocking and unpalatable fact that most people deny it, or they just don't want to think about it. They believe as individuals, they can do little about it, so push it to the back of their minds. But I can't do that.

When something has to be done, we need to do it. It doesn't matter how big the challenge is or how hard the solution; if I know something is wrong, and I am in a position to help, I will do my best to make it right." Duncan Bannatyne, successful British businessman.