he Denpasar District Court has handed down a sentence of a Rp 500,000 (US$30.13) a fine of Rp 500,000 (US$30.13), or seven days behind bars, to a woman identified as Suyati for trading a long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) at Satria Market in Bali’s provincial capital.
Satria Market is the most popular traditional market selling animals and birds in the island province.
The court found Suyati guilty of charges related to illegal trade of wildlife as regulated in Bali Provincial Bylaw No. 5/2023 on maintaining public order, peace and protection.
“The suspect’s act could be categorized as animal cruelty,” said I Wayan Anggara Bawa, an investigator with the Bali Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), citing Article 28, paragraph 1 of the bylaw that prohibits acts of cruelty against animals or livestock.
The Sintesia Animalia Indonesia Foundation reported Suyati to authorities, following a tip-off from a foreign tourist who visited the market and saw a long-tailed macaque in a poor condition.
The animal is now receiving intensive treatment from a veterinary team at the Umah Lumba rehabilitation center, under the management of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN Indonesia).
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Femke den Haas, founder and chair of JAAN Indonesia, said in a statement on Thursday that wildlife trade was not only against the law, but also caused suffering for the animals involved.