Born Free Foundation - Keep Wildlife in the Wild

Over the last few years Born Free partner ProFauna Indonesia has, through the Bali office that we support, helped to crack down on the trade in live turtles and turtle eggs around the country, as well as the illegal keeping of turtles in resorts. Recently Born Free and Humane Society International (Australia) agreed to help them expand this work by supporting targeted investigations into the organised trade in turtle eggs. The project will be conducted over the next few months and we hope it will lead to more arrests and a reduction in this highly damaging trade.

ProFauna Indonesia's investigation supported by the Humane Society International and the Born Free Foundation held between May and August 2010, shows that the trade in turtle eggs still happens openly in Kalimantan. Of the visited 29 sites on Borneo Island, in 18 locations (62%) of them, the turtle egg trade was found. It is estimated that within one month there were about 100,000 turtle eggs traded on the entire island. Several big cities in Kalimantan like Pontianak, Banjarmasin, and Samarinda have become the hubs for the trade. The sea turtle eggs traded in Kalimantan come not just from the beaches in Kalimantan itself, traders also get supplied from other island or islands such as: Midai, Serasan, Natuna, South Sulawesi, and Sembilan which is a protected nature reserve. According to the law of the Republic of Indonesia, the trade of sea turtle eggs is illegal. In the wildlife act number 5 year 1990, it is stated that the trafficking perpetrators of protected species including sea turtle eggs are liable to imprisonment of 5 years and fine of 100 millions IDR (10,000 USD). ProFauna is calling on the government and law enforcement authorities to take immediate action to stop the illegal trade of sea turtle eggs.

Visit their website here

View a video of their investigation below