MAKASSAR - The Quarantine Office secured two black-headed lovebirds from Sorong, South West Papua, in an attempt to illegally ship them through the Soekarno Hatta Makassar Port, South Sulawesi (Sulsel).
"This animal was brought by passengers on the Pelni ship KM. Gunung Dempo from Sorong without having a valid quarantine document," said Head of Quarantine South Sulawesi Sitti Chadidjah as reported by ANTARA, Sunday, January 18.
According to him, passengers carrying the animal cannot show a quarantine certificate from the origin area as required by the quarantine regulations.
He said that during the inspection, the quarantine officers found two plastic bottles of 1.5-liter mineral water, each containing one black-headed lovebird.
The incident occurred when the quarantine officer carried out routine surveillance of passenger arrivals at the Makassar Port.
The officer's suspicions arose when one of the passengers was seen carrying a bag that was suspected to contain a carrier medium that must be checked for quarantine.
Furthermore, the two birds and their owners were secured for further examination at the Makassar Port Service Office.
"Based on the results of the health examination, the two parrots were declared in good health, but were stressed and needed special handling because they were kept in unsuitable containers for quite some time," said Sitti.
According to him, the existence of the black-headed lovebird as an endemic animal also has a high ecological value so that it must be protected from trade and transportation practices that are not in accordance with the provisions.
Based on Law Number 21 of 2019 concerning Animal, Fish, and Plant Quarantine, he said, Quarantine is tasked with preventing the entry, exit, and spread of quarantine animal pests, quarantine plant pests, and quarantine fish pests.
Sitti appealed to the public to comply with the quarantine provisions by not bringing or sending animals, fish, or plants without a valid quarantine document.
"This compliance not only supports law enforcement," he said, "but also makes a real contribution to maintaining Indonesia's health, sustainability, and biological security."
"Community participation is very important. By reporting and complying with the quarantine rules, we together protect Indonesia from biological threats that can harm the livestock, fisheries, agriculture, and environmental sectors," he said.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
