This baby orangutan was confiscated from animal traders in North Sulawesi. She's worth tens of thousands of dollars on the black market, and she owes her life to this man, Willie Smits.But by taking on Indonesia's wildlife traders, Willie has made powerful enemies.
Once I started taking orangutans from army people and police we got a lot of threats ... rocks thrown, dogs killed, car sabotaged, house set on fire etc
Willie has dedicated his life to saving what remains of Indonesia's wild animals. As a result, he now lives with the prospect that every day, someone may try to kill him.
Tell me about the preparations you've made in case something happens to you
The usual stuff ... I wrote my will, and made my grave ... I wrote the letters for my boys ...
Are you worried that something will happen to you ?
Yes, of course
To understand why Willie's life is in danger, we need to go to Central Kalimantan.These baby orangutans have narrowly escaped death at the hands of the same people who have been threatening Willie.The'yre victims of illegal wildlife traders. Their mothers have been killed, and they are now being cared for at this rehabilitation centre set up by Willie.
There's thought to be around 50,000 orangutans left in Borneo and Sumatra, but at the current rate of death and destruction they're suffering, they'll be extinct in the wild within 20 years.
Probably when they killed the mother, they used a machete, and they cut off her hand, and her foot as well ... s'ok siang, s'ok
Willie's manager here is Lone Neilson. She looks after around 300 orangutans, and their stories have shown her some of the worst aspects of human nature.
When Tip's mother was killed, they obviously used a shotgun ... one pellet grazed his eye, and is now lodged in his forehead ... that's why he's blind in this eye ... we probably could take it out, but there's no need to do operations and stuff
Perhaps the most grotesque story is that of Pony...
(Tells how Pony was used for prostitution)
This footage was taken when Pony was sedated and confiscated from the logging camp. The wailing is from her owner, who's complaining that her livelyhood is being taken from her.
That last time we went out there we had 36 military police officers with us, and the whole village were out with their machetes... we got so many threats, the whole centre was under siege, we had military police stationed here for five weeks, 24 hours a day
For now, Pony is in quarantine, but hopefully she'll soon be joining the other orangurans in the forest reserve nearby.
Look at this one here, beautiful, have you ever seen one like this ? ...
Here in Sulawesi is another of the 15 rescue centres Willie has set up across the country, with the aid of funds from a wealthy Indonesian family. Each one is a modern day Noah's Ark, providing shelter to all kinds of rare and valuable animals until they can be safely released.
... look here, these are all birds of paradise on this side, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars here in this one cage ... these are all from Papua and the eastern islands .. very very rare and difficult to keep...
Willie came out from Holland over twenty years ago, to work as a forestor in the jungles of Borneo. Not long after he arrived, he found a baby orangutan left to die on a rubbish heap. After nursing her back to health, he began a crusade against the illegal wildlife traders responsible.
People understand that this is not just a place where they keep animals ...
Along with the rescue centres, Willlie has set up his own network of informants and undercover investigators.
We have our intel unit, which can provide all the institutions with information...
But he's begun to realise he's drastically underestimated the size of the problem, and that the odds are stacked against him.
There are many more animals showing up in the animal trade than we ever expected .... we built a network that could cope with 50,000 ... but it turns out there are hundreds of thousands involved every year.
This is the Pramuka Market in Jakarta. I've come here to see where the wildlife traders do business. Filming openly here can result in a smashed camera and a beating, so I'm posing as a tourist with several of Willie's collegues, and using a concealed camera. This is one of the biggest marketplaces in the world for protected wildlife.
The network is very big, biggest player is the army, they use their planes and ships to move animals all over indonesia ... several zoos involved, politicians ... it's gigantic
Within a few minutes of arriving, we're offered protected birds like these baby owls, as well as other animals from all over Indonesia
Some of the most expensive animals here are the larger primates, like gibbons and orangutans. These men told us they had a siamang, a type of gibbon, for sale, but that we'd have to follow them out the back of the market.
Careful, he's still a bit stunned ... he's a pet
The day we visited the market, there were no orangutans available, but they were told they could be obtained for a price. The going rate was seven and a half million rupiah, or just over a thousand australian dollars.
Indonesia's orangutans are in huge demand across South East Asia, but one of the most extraordinary smuggling cases, still unresolved, involves the Safari World game park in Bangkok, Thailand. Describing itself as "the World of Happiness", Safari World stretches over 200 acres of game parks, where visitors can drive through lion and tiger displays.Over the last few years more than 150 orangutans have been smuggled into Thailand from Indonesia, and most ended up here.
This is why Safari World was so keen to get its hands on them. It's trained them to perform in these kickboxing shows, which were one of its most popular and profitable attractions.... After protests from Indonesia, the shows at Safari World Bankok stopped in August. But many of the best performers have been quietly smuggled out to other locations, where the shows continue. This performance was recorded in December, just over the border in Cambodia.
But in Bangkok, more than a hundred orangutans are still locked away in cages, their fate uncertain.Prosecuting Safari World for this smuggling has proved difficult. It's a major business, listed on the Thai stock exchange, and the owners are politically well connected.
Major General Saweche Pinshinchai is the head of the Thai Forestry Police, and is responsible for investigating animal smuggling here. He knows first -hand how high those connections go.
There is some pressure... When I started in this position, there was a lot of animal smuggling going on. I went to inspect several government and private zoos.We had a lot of arrests then, including at Safari World. So, the zoo operators all over the country got together and appealed to the Minister to have me removed.... They are very powerful, very influential. They are very well connected with politicians and government officials.
Edwin Wiek also understands how well-connected Safari World's owners are. He's Willie Smits' representive in Thailand, and runs his own animal rescue centre, several hours drive from Bangkok.Edwin has been lobbying hard here for the Safari World orangutans to be returned to Indonesia, but he's paying the price for his efforts
On the basis of an anonymous complaint, he's been charged by the Ministry of Natural Resources with possessing wild animals without a permit.
There is no official permit for rescue centres in Thailand ... however, the government themselves are not able to take all the animals in
... but what makes the case particularly absurd is that the same department that charged him continues to dump confiscated animals at his centre.
Rather than wait for the police to come and arrest him, Edwin has decided to drive into court himself.
Well, I'm going to court today, I'm being arrested ... for saving wild animals, which is supposed to be a crime suddenly ...
Why do you think you are being arrested ?
Well, I think there's another reason, it's because I've been pushing this case of the smuggled orangutans ... I've been
warned to let go of this case, but I've been a bit stubborn, been a bad boy I guess
The judge and court officials are embarrassed by the case, and are extremely uneasy about the proceedings being filmed.
If he sees you're filming, you'll lose your camera
While the negotiations continue over his fate, Edwin ends up in the cells under the court building.
Several hours later, Edwin is bailed out. And in the topsy-turvey world of Thai justice, it's the head of the forestry police who puts up the money, paying around $20,000 US out of his own pocket.General Saweche also believes the charge is payback for Edwin's lobbying against Safari World.
Edwin has done good things for the Thai people and for animals in Thailand. He is in fact helping all of us.... Some government agencies just like to stir up problems.
being behind bars in a country like this was absolutely not what I had in mind when I started this work
When Willie Smits heard that Edwin was about to be jailed, he got on a plane to Bangkok with a colleague. But by the time they arrive, Edwin has been bailed out.
The next day, they visit the Indonesian embassy to lobby the ambassador for support.
Willie has already DNA tested the Safari World orangutans to prove they have been smugggled, and not bred in captivity, as the owners claimed.
We have paid for the DNA testing, we are ready to pay for the transport, there is no reason why they should not be sent back now.
Besides the case of Safari World, we are still talking about three more cases...
... Only delays, only excuses, only lies
Next stop for Edwin and Willie is the Forestry Police headquarters. They want to get into Safari World to check on the orangutans, and they need General Saweche's help.
Just like to see the health, the condition of the orangutans, because in the past 14 already dead ... just like to see their condition now, hmm ?
Despite protests from Safari World, Willie and Edwin have been given permission to do an inspection.
This is Central Kalimantan, where Willlie hopes the Safari World orangutans will be released.It's just one of the forest areas his organisation has bought to maintain as protected sanctuaries.
These ultralights make regular sweeps of the area, to watch out for illegal logging and fire
Once the orangutans are almost ready to go back into the forest alone, Lone and her staff move them to these islands in the middle of the river.
It's an island where they train for the last, maybe year, they learn how to find fruit in the forest, how to climb trees and make nests ... these guys have been here for two years and are doing really well ... theyr'e ready to be released, every single one of them
But not every orangutan rescue has a happy ending.
When this orangutan, Tole, was confiscated from an animal trader in East Java in late 2003, she was overweight and in poor health.
She was moved to this rescue centre in Malang, run by Willie's organisation.
Not long after, she died. The death of an orangutan gave ammunition to the wildlife traders, who mounted a viscious personal attack on Willie and his collegues.
The news articles just went up and up, the whole campaign that we were involved in the animal trade, that we were murdering orangutans for medical reasons ... whatever, garbage !
The local paper gave front-page treatment to the Tole case, running over 150 stories in less than 12 months
Then in an extraordinary turn, Greenpeace and other high profile conservation groups appeared to weigh into the debate. Statements were issued, criticising Willlie and his colleagues, and calling for him to be expelled from Indonesia.This fax is supposedly from the Washington DC office of Greenpeace, and calls for Willie to be prosecuted.
But it's a poor forgery, as Greenpeace's South East Asian office complained.
The article "Greenpeace regrets orangutan's death in Malang" contains not only innaccuacies, but was based on a forged document. Please note that : Greenpeace did not issue the said letter. And after obtaining a copy of that letter, it is very obvious that it is a forged document.
The letters of protest from other conservation groups were also later shown to be fakes.
The campaign culminated in this extraordinary demonstration outside Willie's office at the Jakarta Zoo. A mob of students read out a list of accusations against Willie and his collegues, claiming he was involved in the wildlife trade. And as this banner shows, they also demanded that "he be killed to save the earth".
Outraged how these guys can be bribed to stand outside his office demanding he be killed, and then shake hands with the police as they pack up ...
More than 12 months later, Willie and those working with him are still receiving anonymous threats, usually on their mobile phones. As I'm filming at the animal rescue centre in Bali, both he and Wita, the manager of the centre, receive the same message.
The threats have not stopped Willie's operations against wildlife traders. His team has made an extraordinary find in the middle of one of the most crowded tourist areas in Bali. Out the back of a sausage factory, there's half a dozen lions and tigers hidden away in tiny cages.Willie has raided this place before, and it is now too dangerous for him to enter. Posing as tourists, we should be able to get in, but Willie has arranged for someone to keep an eye on us.
The moment they recognise me, the police will show up. They will try to grab your camera, destroy it, and beat us up.
They don't know you guys, so your'e safe to go in there ... we have a special guy, who is not known here yet, to accompany you. Don't stay too long, don't be suspicous, or there will be trouble. I'll be waiting here.
As I walk up the alley, the investigator goes ahead to check things out. We are just metres from one of the busiest streets in Denpassar, and there are five lions and tigers locked up here.They are most likely destined to become trophy pets for senior Indonesian military officers.Chained to the side of one cage is a tiger cub.I'm quickly asked to stop filming, and the manager of the factory is sent for to find out who we are.(Upsot - "Stop - no camera ? OK, I'll turn it off")(Upsot from female manager - "Hello sir, where are you from ?")Behind the manager, a man wearing a crash helmet and carrying a club has already appeared. If we stay any longer, we will be getting a beating.
If you go to the houses of the military officials everywhere you see the last tigers of Sumatra, stuffed, or sitting alive, becoming slowly extinct.
Late at night in a Surabaya hotel, I'm introduced to one of the men Willie believes is threatening to kill him. This is Sinhgky Soewadji, a notorious animal trader with links to the dealers in Bali. Through an intermediary, he's agreed to an interview.
He makes no apology for trading in wild animals.
My business is entertainment ... but my hobby is animals.
And you've had animals before ?
Yes, I had 16 tigers, elephants, lions ... 40 crocodiles, 30 orangutans ...
And what happens to those animals, were they in the zoos ?
No, in my house, my land
Willie Smits claims to have traced the threatening messages he receives back to phones used by an employee of Singky Soewadji.
Willie and Profauna receive many threats. Do you have anything to do with those threats, and if they don't come from you, who do they come from ?
(Bahasa) It's like this ... with the sort of work Smits and Rosek do, threats are common.
Singky Soewadji is also non-commital about who forged the letters from Greenpeace to discredit Willie.
I've heard about that ... yeah, I've heard about that. In Indonesia, you can forge anything ... Right ?
Willie takes the threat of death seriously enough to have made prepartions. At home with his wife in North Sulawesi, he shows me the burial site they have picked out.
She's saying, why don't we put up the roof now, so it will look nicer .. this is our grave
Yeah, you don't know, it could happen any time
How do you feel, knowing that you have your grave ready, it doesn't worry you ?
I'm happy, because I know where it is ... don't you think so ?
I've never thought about it, to be honest.
And then you can prepare, you can make it nicer, yeah ?
But not yet.
Indonesia, indonesia
Willie is a professor at the local university in Sulawesi, and today he's presiding over this graduation ceremony.
One of the criticisms Willie finds most hurtful is that he's a meddling foreigner.In fact, he's made a long-term committment to Indonesia by surrendering his Dutch passport, and becoming an Indonesian national.
At least the people know I won't be running away and giving up ... I'm here to stay as long as I can, to do whatever I can ..
What sort of price do you think you have paid for the work you are doing ?
A lot of hatred, and a lot of enemies ... it's so much easier to run away from problems
Has it been worth it ?
I wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't worth it.
Once I started taking orangutans from army people and police we got a lot of threats ... rocks thrown, dogs killed, car sabotaged, house set on fire etc
Willie has dedicated his life to saving what remains of Indonesia's wild animals. As a result, he now lives with the prospect that every day, someone may try to kill him.
Tell me about the preparations you've made in case something happens to you
The usual stuff ... I wrote my will, and made my grave ... I wrote the letters for my boys ...
Are you worried that something will happen to you ?
Yes, of course
To understand why Willie's life is in danger, we need to go to Central Kalimantan.These baby orangutans have narrowly escaped death at the hands of the same people who have been threatening Willie.The'yre victims of illegal wildlife traders. Their mothers have been killed, and they are now being cared for at this rehabilitation centre set up by Willie.
There's thought to be around 50,000 orangutans left in Borneo and Sumatra, but at the current rate of death and destruction they're suffering, they'll be extinct in the wild within 20 years.
Probably when they killed the mother, they used a machete, and they cut off her hand, and her foot as well ... s'ok siang, s'ok
Willie's manager here is Lone Neilson. She looks after around 300 orangutans, and their stories have shown her some of the worst aspects of human nature.
When Tip's mother was killed, they obviously used a shotgun ... one pellet grazed his eye, and is now lodged in his forehead ... that's why he's blind in this eye ... we probably could take it out, but there's no need to do operations and stuff
Perhaps the most grotesque story is that of Pony...
(Tells how Pony was used for prostitution)
This footage was taken when Pony was sedated and confiscated from the logging camp. The wailing is from her owner, who's complaining that her livelyhood is being taken from her.
That last time we went out there we had 36 military police officers with us, and the whole village were out with their machetes... we got so many threats, the whole centre was under siege, we had military police stationed here for five weeks, 24 hours a day
For now, Pony is in quarantine, but hopefully she'll soon be joining the other orangurans in the forest reserve nearby.
Look at this one here, beautiful, have you ever seen one like this ? ...
Here in Sulawesi is another of the 15 rescue centres Willie has set up across the country, with the aid of funds from a wealthy Indonesian family. Each one is a modern day Noah's Ark, providing shelter to all kinds of rare and valuable animals until they can be safely released.
... look here, these are all birds of paradise on this side, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars here in this one cage ... these are all from Papua and the eastern islands .. very very rare and difficult to keep...
Willie came out from Holland over twenty years ago, to work as a forestor in the jungles of Borneo. Not long after he arrived, he found a baby orangutan left to die on a rubbish heap. After nursing her back to health, he began a crusade against the illegal wildlife traders responsible.
People understand that this is not just a place where they keep animals ...
Along with the rescue centres, Willlie has set up his own network of informants and undercover investigators.
We have our intel unit, which can provide all the institutions with information...
But he's begun to realise he's drastically underestimated the size of the problem, and that the odds are stacked against him.
There are many more animals showing up in the animal trade than we ever expected .... we built a network that could cope with 50,000 ... but it turns out there are hundreds of thousands involved every year.
This is the Pramuka Market in Jakarta. I've come here to see where the wildlife traders do business. Filming openly here can result in a smashed camera and a beating, so I'm posing as a tourist with several of Willie's collegues, and using a concealed camera. This is one of the biggest marketplaces in the world for protected wildlife.
The network is very big, biggest player is the army, they use their planes and ships to move animals all over indonesia ... several zoos involved, politicians ... it's gigantic
Within a few minutes of arriving, we're offered protected birds like these baby owls, as well as other animals from all over Indonesia
Some of the most expensive animals here are the larger primates, like gibbons and orangutans. These men told us they had a siamang, a type of gibbon, for sale, but that we'd have to follow them out the back of the market.
Careful, he's still a bit stunned ... he's a pet
The day we visited the market, there were no orangutans available, but they were told they could be obtained for a price. The going rate was seven and a half million rupiah, or just over a thousand australian dollars.
Indonesia's orangutans are in huge demand across South East Asia, but one of the most extraordinary smuggling cases, still unresolved, involves the Safari World game park in Bangkok, Thailand. Describing itself as "the World of Happiness", Safari World stretches over 200 acres of game parks, where visitors can drive through lion and tiger displays.Over the last few years more than 150 orangutans have been smuggled into Thailand from Indonesia, and most ended up here.
This is why Safari World was so keen to get its hands on them. It's trained them to perform in these kickboxing shows, which were one of its most popular and profitable attractions.... After protests from Indonesia, the shows at Safari World Bankok stopped in August. But many of the best performers have been quietly smuggled out to other locations, where the shows continue. This performance was recorded in December, just over the border in Cambodia.
But in Bangkok, more than a hundred orangutans are still locked away in cages, their fate uncertain.Prosecuting Safari World for this smuggling has proved difficult. It's a major business, listed on the Thai stock exchange, and the owners are politically well connected.
Major General Saweche Pinshinchai is the head of the Thai Forestry Police, and is responsible for investigating animal smuggling here. He knows first -hand how high those connections go.
There is some pressure... When I started in this position, there was a lot of animal smuggling going on. I went to inspect several government and private zoos.We had a lot of arrests then, including at Safari World. So, the zoo operators all over the country got together and appealed to the Minister to have me removed.... They are very powerful, very influential. They are very well connected with politicians and government officials.
Edwin Wiek also understands how well-connected Safari World's owners are. He's Willie Smits' representive in Thailand, and runs his own animal rescue centre, several hours drive from Bangkok.Edwin has been lobbying hard here for the Safari World orangutans to be returned to Indonesia, but he's paying the price for his efforts
On the basis of an anonymous complaint, he's been charged by the Ministry of Natural Resources with possessing wild animals without a permit.
There is no official permit for rescue centres in Thailand ... however, the government themselves are not able to take all the animals in
... but what makes the case particularly absurd is that the same department that charged him continues to dump confiscated animals at his centre.
Rather than wait for the police to come and arrest him, Edwin has decided to drive into court himself.
Well, I'm going to court today, I'm being arrested ... for saving wild animals, which is supposed to be a crime suddenly ...
Why do you think you are being arrested ?
Well, I think there's another reason, it's because I've been pushing this case of the smuggled orangutans ... I've been
warned to let go of this case, but I've been a bit stubborn, been a bad boy I guess
The judge and court officials are embarrassed by the case, and are extremely uneasy about the proceedings being filmed.
If he sees you're filming, you'll lose your camera
While the negotiations continue over his fate, Edwin ends up in the cells under the court building.
Several hours later, Edwin is bailed out. And in the topsy-turvey world of Thai justice, it's the head of the forestry police who puts up the money, paying around $20,000 US out of his own pocket.General Saweche also believes the charge is payback for Edwin's lobbying against Safari World.
Edwin has done good things for the Thai people and for animals in Thailand. He is in fact helping all of us.... Some government agencies just like to stir up problems.
being behind bars in a country like this was absolutely not what I had in mind when I started this work
When Willie Smits heard that Edwin was about to be jailed, he got on a plane to Bangkok with a colleague. But by the time they arrive, Edwin has been bailed out.
The next day, they visit the Indonesian embassy to lobby the ambassador for support.
Willie has already DNA tested the Safari World orangutans to prove they have been smugggled, and not bred in captivity, as the owners claimed.
We have paid for the DNA testing, we are ready to pay for the transport, there is no reason why they should not be sent back now.
Besides the case of Safari World, we are still talking about three more cases...
... Only delays, only excuses, only lies
Next stop for Edwin and Willie is the Forestry Police headquarters. They want to get into Safari World to check on the orangutans, and they need General Saweche's help.
Just like to see the health, the condition of the orangutans, because in the past 14 already dead ... just like to see their condition now, hmm ?
Despite protests from Safari World, Willie and Edwin have been given permission to do an inspection.
This is Central Kalimantan, where Willlie hopes the Safari World orangutans will be released.It's just one of the forest areas his organisation has bought to maintain as protected sanctuaries.
These ultralights make regular sweeps of the area, to watch out for illegal logging and fire
Once the orangutans are almost ready to go back into the forest alone, Lone and her staff move them to these islands in the middle of the river.
It's an island where they train for the last, maybe year, they learn how to find fruit in the forest, how to climb trees and make nests ... these guys have been here for two years and are doing really well ... theyr'e ready to be released, every single one of them
But not every orangutan rescue has a happy ending.
When this orangutan, Tole, was confiscated from an animal trader in East Java in late 2003, she was overweight and in poor health.
She was moved to this rescue centre in Malang, run by Willie's organisation.
Not long after, she died. The death of an orangutan gave ammunition to the wildlife traders, who mounted a viscious personal attack on Willie and his collegues.
The news articles just went up and up, the whole campaign that we were involved in the animal trade, that we were murdering orangutans for medical reasons ... whatever, garbage !
The local paper gave front-page treatment to the Tole case, running over 150 stories in less than 12 months
Then in an extraordinary turn, Greenpeace and other high profile conservation groups appeared to weigh into the debate. Statements were issued, criticising Willlie and his colleagues, and calling for him to be expelled from Indonesia.This fax is supposedly from the Washington DC office of Greenpeace, and calls for Willie to be prosecuted.
But it's a poor forgery, as Greenpeace's South East Asian office complained.
The article "Greenpeace regrets orangutan's death in Malang" contains not only innaccuacies, but was based on a forged document. Please note that : Greenpeace did not issue the said letter. And after obtaining a copy of that letter, it is very obvious that it is a forged document.
The letters of protest from other conservation groups were also later shown to be fakes.
The campaign culminated in this extraordinary demonstration outside Willie's office at the Jakarta Zoo. A mob of students read out a list of accusations against Willie and his collegues, claiming he was involved in the wildlife trade. And as this banner shows, they also demanded that "he be killed to save the earth".
Outraged how these guys can be bribed to stand outside his office demanding he be killed, and then shake hands with the police as they pack up ...
More than 12 months later, Willie and those working with him are still receiving anonymous threats, usually on their mobile phones. As I'm filming at the animal rescue centre in Bali, both he and Wita, the manager of the centre, receive the same message.
The threats have not stopped Willie's operations against wildlife traders. His team has made an extraordinary find in the middle of one of the most crowded tourist areas in Bali. Out the back of a sausage factory, there's half a dozen lions and tigers hidden away in tiny cages.Willie has raided this place before, and it is now too dangerous for him to enter. Posing as tourists, we should be able to get in, but Willie has arranged for someone to keep an eye on us.
The moment they recognise me, the police will show up. They will try to grab your camera, destroy it, and beat us up.
They don't know you guys, so your'e safe to go in there ... we have a special guy, who is not known here yet, to accompany you. Don't stay too long, don't be suspicous, or there will be trouble. I'll be waiting here.
As I walk up the alley, the investigator goes ahead to check things out. We are just metres from one of the busiest streets in Denpassar, and there are five lions and tigers locked up here.They are most likely destined to become trophy pets for senior Indonesian military officers.Chained to the side of one cage is a tiger cub.I'm quickly asked to stop filming, and the manager of the factory is sent for to find out who we are.(Upsot - "Stop - no camera ? OK, I'll turn it off")(Upsot from female manager - "Hello sir, where are you from ?")Behind the manager, a man wearing a crash helmet and carrying a club has already appeared. If we stay any longer, we will be getting a beating.
If you go to the houses of the military officials everywhere you see the last tigers of Sumatra, stuffed, or sitting alive, becoming slowly extinct.
Late at night in a Surabaya hotel, I'm introduced to one of the men Willie believes is threatening to kill him. This is Sinhgky Soewadji, a notorious animal trader with links to the dealers in Bali. Through an intermediary, he's agreed to an interview.
He makes no apology for trading in wild animals.
My business is entertainment ... but my hobby is animals.
And you've had animals before ?
Yes, I had 16 tigers, elephants, lions ... 40 crocodiles, 30 orangutans ...
And what happens to those animals, were they in the zoos ?
No, in my house, my land
Willie Smits claims to have traced the threatening messages he receives back to phones used by an employee of Singky Soewadji.
Willie and Profauna receive many threats. Do you have anything to do with those threats, and if they don't come from you, who do they come from ?
(Bahasa) It's like this ... with the sort of work Smits and Rosek do, threats are common.
Singky Soewadji is also non-commital about who forged the letters from Greenpeace to discredit Willie.
I've heard about that ... yeah, I've heard about that. In Indonesia, you can forge anything ... Right ?
Willie takes the threat of death seriously enough to have made prepartions. At home with his wife in North Sulawesi, he shows me the burial site they have picked out.
She's saying, why don't we put up the roof now, so it will look nicer .. this is our grave
Yeah, you don't know, it could happen any time
How do you feel, knowing that you have your grave ready, it doesn't worry you ?
I'm happy, because I know where it is ... don't you think so ?
I've never thought about it, to be honest.
And then you can prepare, you can make it nicer, yeah ?
But not yet.
Indonesia, indonesia
Willie is a professor at the local university in Sulawesi, and today he's presiding over this graduation ceremony.
One of the criticisms Willie finds most hurtful is that he's a meddling foreigner.In fact, he's made a long-term committment to Indonesia by surrendering his Dutch passport, and becoming an Indonesian national.
At least the people know I won't be running away and giving up ... I'm here to stay as long as I can, to do whatever I can ..
What sort of price do you think you have paid for the work you are doing ?
A lot of hatred, and a lot of enemies ... it's so much easier to run away from problems
Has it been worth it ?
I wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't worth it.