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nimal activists have expressed concern that the poaching and illegal trade in rare Javan hawk-eagles is behind the protected bird's declining population in East Java.

ProFauna Indonesia chairman Rosek Nursahid said Wednesday indications of poaching and trade were most evident in Malang, Lumajang and Jember, from where the birds were smuggled to Japan and the Philippines.

"Interestingly, much the smuggling is allegedly done on orders from official institutions in those countries," Rosek said.

He added the ProFauna network in Japan, for instance, had never found instances of individuals breeding the raptor, which is classified as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

"There's a possibility these institutions want the Javan hawk-eagles for research, but prefer to get them through illegal means, because getting them through official channels is difficult," Rosek told The Jakarta Post.

These institutions, he went on, included zoos and animal breeding centers.

He said such institutions existed in Japan and the Philippines, especially those breeding eagles.

"Since 1998, Japanese researchers have shown great interest in Javan hawk-eagles for research purposes, but LIPI *the Indonesian Institution of Sciences* has kept refusing their requests for live specimens*," Rosek alleged.

"I believe this is linked in some way."

He added this was evident in last week's move by the Bali Police and Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) in foiling the smuggling of 16 animals, 12 of which were Javan hawk-eagles, to Japan.

Two Japanese nationals, Naoki Kammatsu and Tonotobu Yamamoto, and five other alleged members of the smuggling syndicate have been arrested.

What was more concerning, Rosek went on, was that the two Japanese citizens had been released on Tuesday on bail of Rp 500 million.

"This is a big case that could see them jailed for five years or f ined Rp 100 million," he said, adding the two could have shed more light on the smuggling of protected animals.

Rosek also said ProFauna was recording less frequent sightings of Javan hawk-eagles in its studies in the East Java regions of Sempu Island, Mount Arjuno, the Cangar forest and Pujiharjo, all in southern Malang, Lumajang and Jember, where previous studies showed more frequent sightings.

"Before, we used to see up to three hawk-eagles a year there," Rosek said.

"This year, we haven't seen a single hawk-eagle."