13 Jun 2017

Papua moves to protect birds of paradise

2:58 pm on 13 June 2017

Papua has banned the use of birds of paradise as accessories and souvenirs, protecting one of the Indonesian province's most famous endemic species from exploitation.

A Bird of Paradise  in Papua New Guinea.

A Bird of Paradise in Papua New Guinea. Photo: http://flickr.com/photo/16420772@N07/2904706727

The Jakarta Post reports the move aims to reverse a trend that has seen massive hunting and illegal trading of birds of paradise.

The Papuan governor Luka Enembe issued a circular prohibiting the use of birds of paradise as accessories and souvenirs.

The Papua administration secretary, Heri Dosinaen, said the birds of paradise are on the brink of extinction in Papua.

He said without concrete actions to protect them, these birds would soon disappear.

The secretary said use of real birds of paradise would be allowed only for sacred traditional processions in Papua.