Indonesia will lend a breeding pair of endangered Komodo dragons to Japan under an agreement signed Wednesday between zoos from the two countries that emphasized the project's conservation merits.
The five-year renewable deal, criticized by animal rights group PETA, will in turn see Indonesia's Surabaya Zoo receive a pair of red pandas, a pair of giraffes, four Aldabra giant tortoises and two female Japanese macaques from iZoo in Kawazu in Japan's Shizuoka prefecture, officials said.
"This is not just animal exchange. This is a bridge between our two countries, Japan and Indonesia," iZoo director Tsuyoshi Shirawa said at the signing ceremony.
Indonesia's environment ministry said in a statement this month the program's main objective was "long-term conservation".
PETA Asia has expressed concern that any dragon offspring born in Japan will be "condemned to a lifetime of confinement".
"True conservation protects Komodo dragons where they belong -- in their natural habitats -- not by exporting them for political optics or public relations gains," PETA Asia president Jason Baker said in a statement.
The ministry said conservation of the dragons in their natural habitat remained "the main priority".
"Through this cooperation, it is hoped there will be more Japanese people and tourists coming to Indonesia, particularly to the Komodo National Park... to witness Komodos in their natural habitat," Indonesian forestry official Ahmad Munawir said at Wednesday's event, according to AFP.
Under the rules of the CITES pact that governs international trade in endangered species, transfers like this one are allowed for non-commercial breeding programs.
The zoo in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city over 700 kilometers (434 miles) from the dragon's natural habitat, has bred dozens of the dragons in recent years in conditions that mimic their natural home.
In the wild, the world's largest living lizards are found only in the World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park and on neighboring Flores island.
According to the International Union for Protection of Nature, the global population was about 3,458 adult and juvenile Komodo dragons at the last count in 2019.
The fearsome reptiles, which can grow to three meters (10 feet) in length and weigh up to 90 kilograms (200 pounds), are threatened by human activity and climate change destroying their habitat.
In some places, they are losing natural prey to human hunters, and they sometimes die in conflict with humans over livestock.
Some are captured and illicitly traded to zoos or as pets.
There have been legal transfers of Komodos to other zoos in the past, including London and Singapore.
The Indonesian and Japanese governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding last month to make the exchange with Japan possible.
