ARTICLES

Biawak, 9(1), pp. 28-32 © 2015 by International Varanid Interest Group

Water Monitor Lizards for Sale as Novelty Food in Java,

VINCENT NIJMAN Oxford Brookes University OX0 1BP, Oxford, UK E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract – Monitor lizards are not widely thought of as food in Muslim-dominated countries or areas. The island of Java, with 140 million people of whom over 95% are Muslim, is a case in point. Despite this, water monitor lizard Varanus salvator meat is traded and consumed, as a novelty food, as a remedy for a range of ailments (skin diseases, eczema, asthma) and as an aphrodisiac. There are at least 23 cities where restaurants or food stalls sell this type of meat, showing its wide availability throughout the island. Self-reported turnover data by traders in Jakarta (1-3 V. salvator sold each day), Semarang (5/day) and Banyuwangi (15/day) suggest annual Java-wide turnovers of tens of thousands of V. salvator a year to meet the demand from the domestic meat trade. Varanus salvator is not protected under Indonesian law, but its commercial harvest and trade is subject to a strict quota system. The domestic V. salvator meat trade is not included in the quotas as these are largely allocated for export to wholesale traders, and thus the domestic trade appears in violation of Indonesia’s wildlife trade regulations. It is imperative that the domestic trade is taken into account when quotas are set, to ensure that real-world harvest levels do not exceed what is sustainable for the species.

Two decades ago, Klemens & Thorbjarnarson experience of this. All participants agreed upon its use (1995) reviewed the use of reptiles as food sources as a remedy for common skin ailments and eczema, with and listed Gray’s monitor lizard Varanus olivaceus two participants indicating that they had occasionally [incorrectly listed as V. griseus] as being consumed eaten V. salvator meat as a source of protein as opposed in the , and unspecified species of monitor to a medical treatment. Uyeda et al. (2014) noted that V. lizards in Zambia and Congo DRC, whereas Alves et salvator are not often consumed as a source of protein al. (2008) reviewed the use of reptiles for traditional in Indonesia and that their study area was located in medicinal purposes and singled out the Bengal monitor a predominantly Muslim area, where V. salvator are V. bengalensis as being used in India and , and the generally not consumed as a regular dietary item or desert monitor V. griseus in Azerbaijan, and unspecified source of protein due to religious beliefs. species of monitor lizards in Vietnam. Bolton (1972) Despite Java being largely populated by Muslims gave a detailed account how monitor lizards were (over 95% of its 140 million inhabitants are followers of considered edible or not by the various tribes or different Islam; Ricklefs, 2012), the consumption of V. salvator age and sex groups within tribes inhabiting Peninsular meat is far more widespread in Java than Uyeda et al. , showing that at a small geographical scale the (2014) indicate. It is eaten for a variety of reasons and consumption of monitor lizards differs widely. Uyeda in fact may have increased in popularity in recent years. et al. (2014) recently reported on the consumption of V. Here, I give a brief overview on some recent reports salvator meat in two villages in Banten Province, Java, of the consumption of V. salvator in Java, provide an Indonesia, where 14 out of 55 participants interviewed insight into the legality of this trade, and conclude with about the uses of V. salvator had knowledge or first-hand some recommendations for better regulation of this 29 NIJMAN - VARANUS SALVATOR AS NOVELTY FOOD IN JAVA, INDONESIA

trade. Gading districts) (Arisnagara, 2009; Anonymous, 2010; Varanus salvator, known as biawak in Indonesian, 2014a; Pokardas, 2014) and in Bogor (Anonymous, bayawak in Sundanese and nyambik in Javanese (these 1999), Bandung and Lembang (Ahmad, 2013); all being the three main languages spoken on Java), are in West Java. In Central Java it is sold in Pekalongan consumed on Java for medicinal purposes or as a novelty (Kholidah, 2009), Semarang (Dasuki, 2013), Banyumas food; the latter with or without perceived additional (Anonymous, 2009a) and Surakarta, (Legowo, 2012), health benefits. In addition to it being a perceived cure Depok in Yogyakarta (Anonymous 2015), and in East for skin diseases, it is widely believed that V. salvator Java in Ngawi (Anonymous, 2013b), Surabaya (Baihaqi, meat cures asthma and maintains a healthy immune 2011), Malang (ProFauna, 2012), Kediri (Mashudi, system (Anonymous, 2009, 2013a, 2014b; Arisnagara, 2013), Banyuwangi (Rochman, 2014), Pasuruan and 2009). Anonymous (2009), Ahmad (2013) and Baihaqi Balongbendo (Prinatono, 2012). Popular restaurant (2011) report that V. salvator meat increases a man’s search websites such as YukMakan.com, AyoJajan.com, sex drive and acts as an aphrodisiac. While most reports JogjaBagus.com and OpenRice.com list restaurants attribute these benefits to the consumption of the meat, selling V. salvator meat in Tangerang (Banten), Jakarta, Anonymous (2013a) states that it is not the meat but the Yogyakarta, Purwokerto (Central Java), Sidoarjo and rendered fat of V. salvator that has to be used to cure Tulungagung (East Java). burns, skin allergies or hives. Dasuki (2013) indicates While it appears that there has been an increase in that this has now become so popular that “water monitor attention paid to the sale of V. salvator meat in Java, lizard’s oil” is sold bottled. The perceived health benefits it is by no means a recent addition to the menu of the of consuming V. salvator meat (or rendered fat) seem to inhabitants of Java. Anonymous (2015) gives an account vary in the different parts of Java. of a restaurant in Depok (Yogyakarta) that had been Arisnagara (2009) surveyed ten vendors in Jakarta selling V. salvator meat since 1973. Kholidah (2009) that sold reptiles for medicinal or novelty food purposes; reported on a restaurant in Pekalongan that started selling all had V. salvator meat available for purchase, making it in 1997. Anonymous (1999) reported on a V. salvator it, alongside the Javan spitting cobra Naja sputatrix, catcher selling his quarry to restaurants in Bogor in the the most widespread species offered by these traders. late 1990s. Anonymous (2009) reported on a food stall in Its popularity as a culinary delicacy is also stressed by Banyumas, Central Java, selling it for over seven years, Dasuki (2013). The meat, liver and bones are cooked in dating back to at least the early 2000s. Dasuki (2013) a host of different ways, and the skin is fried to make reported on a restaurant in Semarang, Central Java that crackers (Rochman, 2014). Varanus salvator meat is sold has offered V. salvator meat for over ten years (2003 in the form of satay (skewers with small pieces of meat, or earlier) and Baihaqi (2011) indicated that V. salvator grilled and served with peanut sauce, sweet soya sauce, meat had been put on the menu of a Surabaya food stall chilies and shallots), soup, fried or cooked in stews, as in 2009. well as dried (‘abon’). Food stalls offering V. salvator Anonymous (1999) reported that according to the meat often sell other ‘exotic’ meats as well, including offices of the Directorate General of Forest Protection rabbit, snakes, and bats (Ahmad, 2013; Arisnagara, and Nature Conservation (PHKA) in Bogor, the sale 2009; Pokardas, 2014). The social movement of wanting of V. salvator in Java is legal, as it is not a protected to act upon one’s love of exotic foods, including exotic species, with one of the PHKA officers acknowledging meats, has become known as ‘kuliner ekstrim’1 in Java, that he had eaten it himself. While it is correct that and participants have plenty of places to go to. V. salvator is not included on the list of protected Varanus salvator meat is widely available, species in Indonesia (Noerjito & Maryanto, 2001), with reports of restaurants and food stalls selling it the commercial sale of wildlife in Indonesia is strictly throughout Jakarta (Bandengan, Mangga Besar, Kelapa regulated. All monitor lizards are listed on Appendix

1 The ‘kuliner ekstrim’ (also spelled as ektrem) movement seems to be a relatively recent development. The earliest reference I found to it in an Indonesian context dates back to 2009 when it is used by numerous bloggers and writers (e.g., Anonymous, 2009bc); a Google search for 2014 gave over 35 articles or blogs specifically referring to ‘kuliner ekstrim’ in various parts of Indonesia. This either suggest that more people are aware of it, more people write about it, or that consuming novelty food has become more popular. Unfortunately it is not possible to directly link this to a possible increase the volumes of V. salvator consumed on Java. BIAWAK VOL.9 NO. 1 30

II or I of the Convention on International Trade in domestic meat and medicinal markets are licensed by Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and registered with their respective Regional Offices to which Indonesia is a signatory. For the commercial for the Natural Resources Conservation Agency. exploitation of species that are included on one of the Likewise, it is unlikely that those that sell V. salvator appendices of CITES, an annual quota system is in place in restaurants have been allocated part of the quota; if that is controlled by the Ministry of Forestry (Shepherd so, these commercial V. salvator traders are in violation & Nijman, 2007). By decree of the Ministry of Forestry of the law. Note that large numbers of V. salvator are (No. 447/Kpts-11/2003), all harvest or capture and killed for the international skin trade (i.e., typically > distribution of wild plant and animal specimens has to 400,000 / year; PHKA, 2007, 2008; Koch et al., 2013), be done under a license. Collectors, middlemen, and but the permitted harvest of these is largely restricted to suppliers must be registered with Regional Offices for the islands of Sumatra (~250,000 / year) and Indonesian the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), Borneo (~150,000 / year) (PHKA, 2007, 2008), and this an agency under the Directorate General of Forest trade seems to be fully separate from the domestic trade Protection and Nature Conservation that is responsible for meat and medicinal purposes as described here for for the regulation of wildlife trade at the provincial level Java. (Siswomartono, 1998). Quotas are set annually for all It is difficult to assess what impact the domestic non-protected species, and these are divided so that each meat trade has on wild populations of V. salvator. Three province that made a harvest request gets a part of the reports give an indication of the turnover of V. salvator quota. The quota-setting process is conducted through for the meat trade, and these vary widely. If we assume an annual meeting of various stakeholders including that an average V. salvator gives some 2 kg of sellable PHKA, and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), meat, then traders in Jakarta sell the meat of between relevant NGOs and licensed wildlife traders (Shepherd one and three monitors a day (Arisnagara, 2009), one & Nijman, 2007). Annual quotas for V. salvator for Java restaurant in Semarang of five monitors a day (Dasuki, are typically in the order of some 30,000 individuals, 2013), and a food stall owner near Banyuwangi of 15 with 90% of these intended for export (PHKA, 2007, monitors a day (Rochman, 2014). The combined total 2008; Arisnagara, 2009; Koch et al., 2013); these quotas number of V. salvator needed by these 13 restaurants are allocated to members of the Indonesian Reptile on an annual basis to supply this demand totals some and Amphibian Trade Association, most of whom are 12,500 individuals (Fig. 1). wholesale exporters (Shepherd & Nijman, 2007). If the data in Fig. 1 are representative of the trade As argued by Arisnagara (2009), it is highly in V. salvator on Java, and there is no reason to assume unlikely that the people that harvest V. salvator for the it is not, and conservatively estimating the number

Fig. 1. Daily turnover (number of Varanus salvator consumed per day) by 13 restaurants or food stalls in three cities on Java (bars) and the cumulative number of V. salvator needed on an annual basis to supply this demand. 31 NIJMAN - VARANUS SALVATOR AS NOVELTY FOOD IN JAVA, INDONESIA

of restaurants and food stalls at 50 (Jakarta alone has sex dan obat kulit. Banyumas Post, 21 September over ten: Arisnagara, 2009; and see listing above), this 2009. http://banyumasnews.com/4953/sate- would mean close to 50,000 V. salvator are needed to biawak-tingkatkan-gairah-sex-dan-obat-kulit/. supply this demand. It is important to note that given Last accessed: 12 May 2015. the distribution of turnover data, a few restaurants are Anonymous. 2009b. Taman wisata penangkaran responsible for the bulk of this trade (one food stall in buaya Surya Raya. Sriwijaya Inflight Magz. 9 Banyuwangi needs over 5,000 V. salvator each year to February. https://rizkykertanegara.wordpress. meet the demand from its customers; Rochman, 2014). com/2009/02/03/taman-wisata-penangkaran- Java is an island with some 140 million people; the buaya-surya-raya/. Last accessed: 12 May 2015. majority of them will never consume V. salvator (cf. Anonymous. 2009c Nikmatnya sensasi sang cobra. Uyeda et al., 2014), but a small minority can consume jalurevakuasilapar.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/ a large number of them even if eaten only as novelty nikmatnya-sensasi-sang-cobra.html. Last food or to relieve the symptoms of a wide range of accessed: 27 March 2015. ailments. This assessment of the domestic trade in V. Anonymous. 2010. Food they crave. Jakarta Post, salvator in Java adds to a small number of other studies 4 April 2010. http://www.thejakartapost.com/ in Indonesia. Iskandar (2004) recorded that people in news/2010/04/04/food-they-crave.html. Last the Malinau region of North Kalimantan, consumed not accessed: 12 May 2015. only V. salvator, but also the black roughneck monitor, Anonymous. 2013a. Khasiat daging biawak untuk V. rudicollis and possibly a third smaller monitor lizard mengobati penyakit asma. Obat Tradisional, species. Based on interviews with 147 hunters in the Jakarta. 4 pp province of West Papua, Pangau-Adam et al. (2012) Anonymous. 2013b. SSB JTV Madiun – sate concluded that close to a thousand peach-throated biawak. https://www.youtube.com/ monitors, V. jobiensis were killed a year for domestic watch?v=ISFxRqNK6BM. Last accessed: 27 consumption. The domestic trade in monitor lizards on March 2015. Java and indeed other parts of Indonesia has gone largely Anonymous. 2014a. Eat street food: berburu kuliner unnoticed. It therefore seems unlikely that domestic unik di Jakarta. www.infojakarta.net/berburu- off-take has been taken into account when assessing kuliner-unik-di-jakarta/. Last accessed: 27 March the sustainability of the harvest volumes intended for 2015. international export. I urge the Directorate General Anonymous. 2014b. Manfaat daging biawak bagi of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation and the kesehatan tubuh. Manfaat Center, Tanggerang. 13 Indonesian Institute of Sciences to take this into account pp. at the earliest opportunity when future annual harvest Anonymous. 2015. 12 kuliner ekstrim di Yogya yang quotas are set. patut dicoba. Terselubung. terselubung.in/gaya- hidup/12-kuliner-ekstrim-di-yogya-yang-patut- Acknowledgments - I thank two reviewers for dicoba.html. Last accessed: 27 March 2015. constructive comments and helpful suggestions for Arisnagara, F. 2009. Pemanfaatan reptile sebagai obat improvement. dan makanan di Daerah Ibu Kota (DKI) Jakarta. BSc thesis, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor. References 64 pp. Baihaqi, A. 2011. Krengesengan nyambik, bisa lebih Ahmad, T. 2013. Berani mencoba kuliner ekstrim di greng. Detik News, 21 February 2011 http://news. Bandung? InfoBDG.com. http://www.infobdg. detik.com/surabaya/read/2011/02/21/112813/1574 com/v2/berani-mencoba-kuliner-ekstrim-di- 973/594/krengesengan-nyambik-bisa-lebih-greng. bandung/. Last accessed: 27 March 2015. Last accessed: 12 May 2015. Alves, R. R.N., W.L. da Silva Vieira & G.G. Santana. Bolton, J. M. 1972. Food taboos among the Orang Asli 2008. Reptiles used in traditional folk medicine: in West Malaysia: A potential nutritional hazard. Conservation implications. Biodiversity and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 25: 789- Conservation 17: 2037-2049. 799. Anonymous. 1999. Selling lizards, an odd job for Dasuki, M. 2013. Sate biawak, ampuh mengobati Bogor man. Jakarta Post 2 August 1999. penyakit gatal kulit. Actual.co. www.aktual.co/ Anonymous. 2009a. Sate biawak tingkatkan gairah jalanjajan/165503sate-biawak-ampuh-mengobati- BIAWAK VOL.9 NO. 1 32

penyakit-gatal-kulit. Last accessed: 27 March PHKA. 2008. Kuota Pengambilan Tumbuhan dan 2015. Penangkapan Satwa Liar yang Termasuk Iskandar, D.T. 2004. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Appendix CITES untuk Period Tahun 2008. Malinau Region, Bulungan Research Forest, East Ministry of Forestry, Jakarta. 28 pp. Kalimantan. CIFOR, Bogor. 27 pp. Pokardas, H. 2014. Exotic grub! Jakarta City Life Kholidah, S. 2009. Daging biawak diyakini bisa 3 February 2014 http://jakartacitylife.com/ haluskan kulit. Suara Merdeka 8 December 2009. index.php/article/detail/most-exotic-grub-. Last http://archive.kaskus.co.id/thread/6514771/0/ accessed: 12 May 2015. daging-biawak-di-yakini-haluskan-kulit- Prinatono, B. 2012. Sastera yang membuat perut cekibrootoo. Last accessed: 12 May 2015. Anda keroncongan. www//sasteralapar.blogspot. Klemens, M.W. & J.B. Thorbjarnarson 1995. Reptiles co.uk/2012/08/. Last accessed: 27 March 2015. as a food resource. Biodiversity and Conservation ProFauna. 2012. Perdagangan satwa liar dan bagian- 4: 281-298. bagiannya semakin tak terkendali. Suara Satwa Koch, A., T. Ziegler, W. Böhme, E. Arida & M. Auliya. 16(3): 2-5. 2013. Pressing problems: Distribution, threats, Ricklefs, M.C. 2012. Islamisation and its opponents in and conservation status of the monitor lizards Java: c. 1930 to the present. National University (Varanidae: Varanus spp.) of Southeast Asia and of Press, Singapore. 576 pp. the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Herpetological Rochman, A. 2014. Reptiles on the menu. Jakarta Conservation and Biology 8: 1-62. Post, 23 January 2014 http://www.thejakartapost. Legowo, K. 2012. Sate biawak dipercaya jadi obat com/news/2014/01/23/reptiles-menu.html. Last mujarab. Timlo Surabaya, 21 March 2012. http:// accessed: 12 May 2015. www.timlo.net/baca/23410/dipercaya-jadi-jamu- Shepherd, C.R., V. Nijman. 2007. An overview of the penyakit-kulit/. Last accessed: 12 May 2015. regulation of the freshwater turtle and tortoise pet Mashudi, D. 2013. Darmianto juga sediakan sate trade in Jakarta, Indonesia. TRAFFIC Southeast biawak dan kalkun. Surabaya Tribune 4 January Asia, Petaling Jaya. 54 pp. 2013. http://surabaya.tribunnews.com/2013/01/04/ Siswomartono, W. 1998. Review of the policy and darmianto-juga-sediakan-sate-biawak-dan-kalkun. activities of wildlife utilization in Indonesia. Last accessed: 12 May 2015. In: Erdelen, W. (ed.). Deutsche gesellschaft fur Noerjito, M. & I. Maryanto. 2001. Jenis-jenis hayati Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde e.V., Rheinbach yang dilundungi perundang-undang Indonesia. Germany. Mertensiella 7: 37–44. LIPI, Cibinong. 221 pp. Uyeda, L., E. Iskandar, A. Purbatrapsila, J. Pamungkas, Pangau-Adam, M., R. Noske & M. Muehlenberg 2012. A. Wirsing, R. Kyes. 2014. Water monitor Wildmeat or bushmeat? Subsistence hunting lizard (Varanus salvator) satay: A treatment for and commercial harvesting in Papua (West New skin ailments in Muarabinuangeun and Cisiih, Guinea), Indonesia. Human Ecology 40: 611-621. Indonesia. Biawak 8(1): 35-38. PHKA. 2007. Kuota Pengambilan Tumbuhan dan Penangkapan Satwa Liar dari Habitat Alam – Period Tahun 2007. Ministry of Forestry, Jakarta. 32 pp.

Received: 26 January 2015; Accepted: 18 May 2015