Illegal pet trafficking is pushing gibbons—already classified as endangered—closer to extinction, with hundreds of individuals seized across Southern and Southeast Asia over the past decade.
What’s happening?
Rehabilitation centers in North Sumatra are overwhelmed by an influx of orphaned infants, many ripped from their mothers. The Sumatran Rescue Alliance (SRA) near Gunung Leuser National Park was forced to care for three infants after a March 2025 bust that uncovered 16 gibbons being smuggled by boat through the Strait of Malacca.
Sinan Serhadli of the SRA warned that “most gibbon babies die — that’s the sad reality. Probably only one in 10 actually makes it to an end buyer. The waste is enormous.”
Between 2016 and 2025, authorities confiscated at least 336 gibbons across the region, with 65 seizures recorded in the first eight months of 2025 alone.
Richard Moore, senior adviser at Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI), linked the surge to social‑media hype and the rise of urban “mini‑zoos.” YIARI’s analysis shows an average of 130 gibbons are traded annually, about 90 % of them juveniles or infants taken from forests in Borneo, Java and Sumatra.
Susan Cheyne, vice chair of the IUCN primate specialist group, said, “In an ideal world, there wouldn’t be a need for any rescue centers, because we’d have stopped the trade. But we’re not in an ideal world.”
Why is gibbon trafficking concerning?
Gibbons are already endangered; the growing demand for them as pets threatens to push the species to the brink of extinction. Removing infants also devastates the complex social structures of gibbon families, with long‑term ecological repercussions.
What’s being done?
Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) deploys sniffer dogs at ports and airports to intercept wildlife shipments and gathers intelligence to support seizures and arrests.
Because gibbons form monogamous pairs, rehabilitation programs now focus on re‑establishing pair bonds to improve chances of successful release, though trauma often hampers survival.
Femke den Haas of JAAN urges stronger cross‑border collaboration, stating that “we won’t see this ending before we really have a very powerful collaboration between all the countries [involved].”
Indonesia’s legal framework permits up to 15 years’ imprisonment for anyone who transports, trades, keeps or kills a protected species, yet loopholes, online markets and weak enforcement limit its effectiveness.
Kanitha Krishnasamy of TRAFFIC criticized the focus on low‑level middlemen, arguing that “the real masterminds continue to pilfer and profit.”
Frequently Asked Questions
How many gibbons have been seized in recent years?
Authorities have confiscated at least 336 gibbons across South and Southeast Asia from 2016 through 2025, including 65 seizures in the first eight months of 2025.
Why are baby gibbons the primary target of traffickers?
Infant gibbons are prized in the illegal pet market, leading traffickers to rip them from their mothers; however, most babies die in the process, and only about one in ten reaches an end buyer.
What measures are being taken to combat gibbon trafficking?
Organizations such as the Sumatran Rescue Alliance, Jakarta Animal Aid Network and TRAFFIC are rescuing infants, using sniffer dogs at ports, providing intelligence for seizures, and urging stronger cross‑border collaboration while Indonesian law allows up to 15 years’ imprisonment for offenders.
What steps do you think could most effectively curb the illegal trade in gibbons?
