A total of 91 exotic animals rescued from poaching and illegal trading activities here were successfully repatriated to Indonesia on July 27.
Led by the Indonesian Consulate together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Davao Region (DENR-Region 11) and the Davao Crocodile Park and Zoo, the effort is considered the first in the region.
The 91 was part of the original 450 seized by the Philippine Operations Group on Ivory and Illegal Wildlife Trade in Brgy. Dahican, Mati City in Davao Oriental April last year.
Authorities confirmed the confiscated wildlife, most of which were considered endangered under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), came from Indonesia.
Of the 450, 225 were eventually turned over to the Davao Crocodile Park and Zoo, while some died in transit.
In an inventory conducted last December 20 of the 125 that survived were found unfit for repatriation while 14 more died.
The 91 found fit for repatriation include a Greater Sulfur-crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Black-capped Lory, Northern Cassowary, White-striped Wallaby, Blue-tongued skink and Rainer Gunther Monitor.
DENR Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Eastern Mindanao and DENR-Davao Regional Executive Director Ruth Tawantawan, lauded the successful coordination between the DENR, Indonesian Consulate, and Davao Crocodile Park that eventually resulted in the repatriation of the animals.
"Rest assured that under Secretary Roy Cimatu’s watch, the DENR will always be on guard in curtailing wildlife trading. We are also hoping that there will be no more wildlife trading to also keep us safe from the risk of the possible accidental transmissions of diseases," Tawantawan said in a statement posted on social media by the DENR-Davao Region.
Dicky Fabian, Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, said the animals will be placed in a wildlife sanctuary in Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre in Bitung, Indonesia.
He added that as soon as the animals are deemed fit, they will eventually be freed into the wild.
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