Loris Confiscations Highlight Need for Protection

April 2007

Several recent loris smuggling incidents have shown how important it is to increase international protection for these small, nocturnal primates. Cambodia has proposed that all three species of slow loris (the greater slow loris, Bengal slow loris, and pygmy slow loris) be elevated to Appendix I (the most protected category) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Lorises are currently listed on Appendix II, which leaves them vulnerable to commercial trade. Cambodia’s proposal will be debated at the 14th Conference of the Parties of CITES, which is to be held in the Netherlands in June 2007. In some official circles, support for this action appears to be limited, because very little legal trade has been reported to the CITES Secretariat. However, it appears that illegal trade is much more rampant and could be taking a significant toll on these animals.

Thai-Japanese smuggling route

On 3 November 2006 a man was arrested by Thai customs and CITES authorities at Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport. Wildlife officials found that he had concealed nine slow lorises in his luggage. The man, a 34-year old Japanese national, confessed that he had purchased the slow lorises at Bangkok’s Chatuchak Market for 6,000 Thai baht (US$185) per animal. This was the third time in 2006 that slow lorises had been confiscated en route from Thailand to Japan, but the first time at the new airport. The suspect could face prison time and heavy fines.

Thai-Japanese smuggling incidents are continuing this year. On 24 February 2007, another effort was made to smuggle lorises to Japan via Suvarnabhumi. Thai officials seized 23 slow lorises, most of them babies, packed in small cages inside a large suitcase bound for Narita Airport, Japan. A Japanese national named Kawarabuki Nobuhito checked his luggage at the Thai Airways counter. Thai airport authorities grew suspicious of the contents of the suitcase after hearing noises coming from inside and informed wildlife officials stationed at the airport. The lorises were confiscated, but the passenger did not show up to board his flight.

Indonesian, Malaysian seizures

In an earlier incident that took place in January 2003, the Indonesian police confiscated 91 slow lorises from a Kuwaiti citizen at Jakarta Airport. The animals were destined for Kuwait. More recently, on Thursday 8 February 2007, seven slow lorises were found during a raid by Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks on a pet shop in Bandar Puteri Permai, Seri Kembangan. The animals were confiscated and moved to the wildlife department’s headquarters in Cheras, where their health is being monitored. Several of the lorises were sick. Plans included sending them to the wildlife department’s animal rescue centre. The pet shop owner selling the lorises and other protected wildlife faces a long prison term.

Meet the Slow Lorises Slow lorises are small nocturnal primates found in forested areas of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and parts of China. There are three species of slow loris: the greater slow loris, Bengal slow loris, and pygmy slow loris. (Another group, consisting of the slender lorises, is found in southern India and Sri Lanka but is not part of the Cambodian proposal.) Lorises’ tails are either very short or completely absent. Their round eyes are enormous and they have excellent night vision. During the day slow lorises prefer to sleep in hollowed-out trees, tree crevices, or branches. By night they move slowly and carefully, as they hunt for their preferred insects and plant materials. They do not jump or leap like monkeys. They tend to live solitary lives, except for mothers with babies. Lorises scent-mark their territories. Lorises have been adversely affected by forest destruction and the pet trade. In many parts of Asia, they are also used as food and in traditional medicines.

Ask for International Support to Protect Slow Lorises Please send a message to the CITES authorities of your home country expressing your strong support for Cambodia’s proposal to upgrade slow lorises and ask them to vote in favor of the proposal. To determine the contact information, please visit the Web site http://www.cites.org/ and click on “National Contacts,” which lists the contacts for all the CITES member nations.

IPPL to Sponsor Loris Pins at Conference IPPL is helping to sponsor the production of a slow loris pin being produced by the Species Survival Network (an international coalition of NGOs, including IPPL, that promote the work of CITES) for distribution to all government delegates and observers at the upcoming CITES conference. The CITES pins are always highly coveted and several different animals are selected for each meeting. The pins will increase the profile of the wonderful but too little known loris family of primates!