ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 11:201-205 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00276 Contribution to Theme Section 'Primate conservation: measuring and mitigating trade in primates' Illegal primate trade in Indonesia exemplified by surveys carried out over a decade in North Sumatra Chris R. Shepherd* Oxford Wildlife Trade Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, School of Social Sciences and Law, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK Present address: TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Unit 3-2, 1st floor, Jalan SS23/11, Taman SEA, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia *Email: cstsea@po.jaring.my ABSTRACT: The illegal and unsustainable trade in primates is increasingly recognized as an urgent threat to their conservation. From 1997 to 2008, 66 surveys were conducted at bird markets in Medan, North Sumatra, where primates are sold openly. In total,1953 primates of 10 species were observed, the most common of which were the long-tailed macaque Macaca fascicularis (774 ind.), the greater slow loris Nycticebus coucang (714 ind.) and the pig-tailed macaque M. nemestrina (380 ind.). Six of the species observed are totally protected in Indonesia, yet were openly traded. Trade in the remaining 4 species is regulated through a harvest and trade quota system, but no quotas are allotted for them to be traded as pets. Therefore, all trade in primates observed in these markets is deemed illegal. The Indonesian authorities should be encouraged to take action against this illegal trade in Medan. Markets selling illegal wildlife should be closed down, and individuals found illegally trading in primates should be prosecuted. KEY WORDS: CITES . Conservation . Primates . Wildlife trade Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Shepherd CR (2010) Illegal primate trade in Indonesia exemplified by surveys carried out over a decade in North Sumatra. Endang Species Res 11:201-205. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00276Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 11, No. 3. Online publication date: April 30, 2010 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.