Macaque in a cage staring out through the bars.

Needs Funding

Tackling Indonesia’s Illegal Wildlife Trade

Preventing animal suffering & threats to human health.

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Project Summary

Indonesia’s illegal wildlife trade is one of the largest in the world, fuelled by demand for exotic pets, meat, and ingredients used in traditional medicine. This devastating trade inflicts widespread animal suffering, pushes endangered species closer to extinction, and increases the risk of global pandemics. Our partners, YIARI, are confronting this crisis head-on.

Through a unified One Health approach, YIARI are working to dismantle illegal markets, strengthen legal protections, educate local communities, and reduce the spread of diseases that can pass from animals to humans.

Local Partner: YIARI

The Full Story

A Crisis for Wildlife and Human Health
From birds and reptiles to primates like macaques and slow lorises, Indonesia’s wildlife is being captured and sold in often horrific conditions. Many animals are kept in overcrowded cages without food, water, or sanitation. These environments are breeding grounds for disease, putting both animals and people at risk.

Strategic Action
YIARI is leading efforts to reform wildlife trade policy and market regulation. They conduct undercover investigations, expose illegal operations, and collaborate with local authorities to shut down markets and prosecute offenders. At the same time, they help improve the systems that govern legal wildlife trade by advocating for higher welfare standards and better enforcement.

Community and Government Engagement
Education is key. YIARI runs workshops for government officials, traders, and market staff to improve awareness and compliance. They also engage with forest-edge communities to reduce reliance on wildlife hunting and offer more sustainable, wildlife-friendly alternatives.

A Safer Future for All
By addressing the trade at every level, from poachers to policymakers, YIARI’s work is reducing cruelty, conserving biodiversity, and protecting public health. This is conservation that saves lives.

Help us end the illegal wildlife trade for the sake of animals, people, and the planet.

[DONATE NOW] – Support our work to stop wildlife trafficking in Indonesia

The Dark Side of Cute

Behind those “cute” clips is a trade built on suffering. Poachers snatch slow lorises from the wild, often entire families at once. Their teeth are cut out with pliers or nail clippers so they can’t bite. The pain is unimaginable. Many bleed to death or die from infection long before they are sold.

This is the true cost of “cute. (Trigger warning – distressing video content)

Help Stop Illegal Wildlife Trade

Illegal Wildlife Trade

Markets Selling Illegally Selling Wildlife

Project Impact

YIARI's dedicated team combatting the illegal wildlife trade has saved thousands of animals lives. From education and awareness raising, to frontline teams working undercover to prevent horrendous cruelty to defenseless animals, YIARI's work is making a difference.

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SLOW LORIS RESCUED

More than 600 rescued slow lorises have been released back into protected forests.
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REDUCTION IN SLOW LORIS TRADE

Reduced illegal trade in slow lorises by 90% over 10 years.