Responsible Tourism

The Kukang Rescue Program

We are zoologists and conservationists fighting the illegal trade in wild animals and especially striving to protect the greater slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) and Sumatran slow loris (Nycticebus hilleri) - poisonous primates that fall victim to their cuteness. We have been running a non-profit organization on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia since 2014, within which we have built a rescue and rehabilitation centre for confiscated slow lorises in order to return them to the wild. We work with local communities on several levels. We educate local children in whom we develop a positive attitude towards nature. We employ former poachers, who are now our field assistants. We are also transforming local farmers into conservationists by supporting the “Kukang Coffee” eco-friendly coffee project. In addition, we help them peacefully resolve conflicts with wild animals. The main purpose of all our efforts is to reduce the rate of illegal trade (not only) in slow lorises, and thus protect the population of (not only) these endangered animals in the wild.

Program Goals

Cooperation with local government agencies on wildlife conservation and on the enforcement of laws on slow loris protection.

Operation of a rescue and rehabilitation centre for slow lorises confiscated from the black market.

Setting up an Indonesian team that will implement most of the slow loris conservation activities.

Raising awareness about the illegal trade in animals and about the conservation of slow lorises.

Cooperation with and support of local communities.

Securing a sustainable population of slow lorises in human care, i.e. ex situ.

Download the leaflet here

Tourism in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries

Are you planning to run away from the cold winter? Have you decided to grab the cheap plane tickets to Thailand and other destinations in Southeast Asia? Would you love to get a photo with exotic animals? Be careful to not support the black market in animals.

Whether you're on a beach, a busy tourist street, or maybe by the waterfalls and you are enjoying your vacation, you may come across a trader who will offer you to take a photo with a small cute primate - protected slow loris. By taking the seemingly harmless selfie, you may unconsciously support illegal capture of slow lorises from the wild, where their population has been reduced to a third in the past 20 years, also due to the illegal trade. One species of slow loris is even among the 25 most endangered primates in the world.

Although The Kukang Rescue Program operates in Sumatra, the aim of our “I Am Not Your Toy!” campaign is to raise awareness regardless of borders and we would like to appeal to you to behave responsibly while traveling.

Some of you have already actively intervened or sent us photos of the traders with slow lorises, asking who to call and how to make the passive policemen intervene.

If you come across a slow loris, you should definitely refuse to take a photo of it, you can alert the trader and the surrounding tourists that the activity is illegal and the animal is endangered and protected by law. You can even warn (often indifferent) police. Help us raise awareness and encourage the relevant authorities to block the illegal trade in slow lorises.

Be especially careful and attentive in locations such as Phuket - Bangla Road area of Patong Beach and Karon, Ban Karon, Koh Samui - Chaweng Beach, Khao Lak, Phang-nga - Ton Pling Waterfall, Khao Lak, Chonburi - Pattaya downtown, as well as in any other tourist areas.

Stolen Wildlife

Illegal trade in animals and their body parts is one of the main causes of wild animals becoming endangered. A problem and responsibility of Asia, Africa or America? Yes, of course, but also European states are to blame, and so are even many citizens of the Czech Republic. You don’t believe it? You can now learn more thanks to the new, unique campaign named Stolen Wildlife. Stolen Wildlife is the first complex campaign in the Czech Republic, disclosing often overlooked facts about illegal wildlife trade.

I Am Not Your Toy!

The "I Am Not Your Toy!" campaign, yet another activity of The Kukang Rescue Program, is focused against the popularization of slow lorises as pets on the internet. This is most often done through "cute" videos on YouTube and by sharing videos and photos on social networks. It has already been proven that these videos have a direct impact on the illegal trade in slow lorises, i.e. they support it. The aim of the campaign is to inform the general public about the real background of these videos. Help us spread this information - together we can join forces and use the increasingly popular social networks and websites to raise awareness about wildlife protection.