705 birds smuggled to Semarang thwarted by Karantina

PONTIANAK - The West Kalimantan Quarantine Office thwarted the illegal shipment of hundreds of birds at the Dwikora Pontianak Port as a form of commitment to protect Indonesia's biological wealth through strict surveillance of animal traffic.

Head of the West Kalimantan Quarantine Office, Amdali Adhitama, said the failure of the illegal shipment was carried out in a surveillance operation on Friday morning at around 01.10 WIB in the working area of Dwikora Port, Pontianak.

"The quarantine officers thwarted the illegal shipment of hundreds of birds without official health documents," said Amdali in Pontianak, Antara, Friday, December 19.

During the operation, officers secured 700 birds and five birds that were found hidden in the hatch of the KM Dharma Kartika ship. Hundreds of birds were planned to be sent to Semarang without quarantine documents as required by the provisions of the law.

"The disclosure of the case began with routine surveillance of the means of transport that were anchored at the Dwikora Port pier," said Amdali, explaining that the disclosure of the case began with routine surveillance of the means of transport that were anchored at the Dwikora Port pier. When a more in-depth examination was carried out, officers found hundreds of birds stored in the ship's hatch that were locked and not reported to quarantine officials at the place of issue.

"All the media carriers were immediately secured for further quarantine measures to ensure that there is no spread of the quarantine animal disease," he said.

He emphasized that the West Kalimantan Quarantine Office would not tolerate any form of smuggling of animal and plant commodities.

"We will not tolerate any form of smuggling of animal and plant commodities. This firm action is part of our responsibility in protecting Indonesia's natural resources," he said.

Amdali also invited the public to always report to quarantine officers. According to him, bringing animals without official documents not only violates the law, but also has a high risk of spreading diseases that can damage the ecosystem in the destination area.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Animal Quarantine Working Team of the West Kalimantan Quarantine Office, Muamar Darda, said that animals that were transported without going through quarantine inspection had the potential to carry dangerous disease agents for animal and environmental health.

"Technically, animals that pass through without quarantine inspection are very risky for carrying disease agents. This detention is carried out to ensure that every carrier media that comes out of West Kalimantan has undergone health tests according to standards," said Muamar.

Head of the West Kalimantan Quarantine Office Law Enforcement Working Group Edi Susanto added that the modus operandi of hiding the carrier media in the locked ship's hatch was a serious violation of Law Number 21 of 2019 concerning Animal, Fish, and Plant Quarantine.

"We will process these findings in accordance with applicable laws," said Edi.

As a follow-up, the West Kalimantan Quarantine Office coordinated with the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), the National Police, and the Indonesian Navy to ensure that the handling was carried out according to procedures. All birds that were secured would then be directed to be released back into their natural habitat to maintain the sustainability of wildlife populations.

The West Kalimantan Quarantine Office confirmed that it would continue to strengthen cross-sectoral supervision and coordination so that every crossing of animal, fish, and plant commodities would take place in accordance with regulations.