Bird lovers opt to stay in coops<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As a bird lover, Suhari has had to refrain from visiting a bird
\npark or zoo this weekend.<\/p>\n
He used to visit Ragunan Zoo almost every weekend because not
\nonly it was a cheap place to bring the family, it was also
\neducational.<\/p>\n
\"It's bad enough for me that the zoo is temporarily closed.
\nIt's even worse that we can't go to the bird park in Taman Mini
\nIndonesia Indah (TMII) or other places where we can enjoy looking
\nat birds as we never know whether the birds there are also
\ninfected with bird flu,\" the 41-year-old man told The Jakarta
\nPost while strolling around a shopping mall in South Jakarta on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
Until the government declares the situation safe, Suhari said,
\nhe would minimize his contact with birds.<\/p>\n
\"I have several birds at home. I've had them vaccinated and
\nkeep their cages clean all the time. I can't get rid of them as I
\nlove them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Suhari, who has two daughters and a son, said that he would
\ntake his family to visit malls or ask them to stay home and rent
\nmovies at weekends from now on.<\/p>\n
The government announced last week that 19 birds had been
\nfound at Ragunan Zoo to have been infected with bird flu virus
\nand decided to close down the zoo for 21 days starting last
\nMonday to contain the outbreak.<\/p>\n
The government also ordered other zoos, animal parks and open-
\nair recreations sites across the country to improve their
\nsanitation and prevention measures to ensure that none of their
\nanimals were infected with bird flu.<\/p>\n
Many zoos and animal parks, including TMII in East Jakarta and
\nthe Safari Park in Bogor, saw a major drop in the number of
\nvisitors.<\/p>\n
The number of visitors to the bird park at TMII, for instance,
\ndropped by half to below 40 just a day after the announcement.<\/p>\n
\"We haven't even had one visitor today even though it's
\nalready the weekend. Usually, more than 1,000 visitors come here
\nevery weekend,\" the bird park's manager Widya Brata told the Post
\non Saturday.<\/p>\n
He said that because of the bird flu outbreak, TMII had seen
\nan overall drop in the number of visitors since early this week.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, several malls, including Plaza Senayan in Central
\nJakarta and Pondok Indah Mall in South Jakarta, saw a slight
\nincrease in the number of visitors on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"I think we've had a slight increase in the number of our
\nvisitors, at least today. However, I can't tell you the exact
\nnumber as we haven't counted the total number of visitors over
\nthe week. We will have a clearer picture next week,\" Plaza
\nSenayan's public relations officer Teguh Budiyono told the Post.<\/p>\n
A visitor to the plaza, Kartono, 38, said that he and his
\nfamily would avoid outdoor recreation sites, and instead visit
\nmalls or movie theaters at weekends, at least for the next
\nseveral months.<\/p>\n
\"We don't want to take any risks. Who knows the source of the
\nbird flu virus ... The government has given us so little
\ninformation about how we can get infected, I've decided to put
\ncaution first for the sake of my family.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bird-lovers-opt-to-stay-in-coops-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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