Local zoos have no place for animals<\/p>\n
Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar<\/p>\n
Going to the zoo must be a good time for children and parents,
\nsince thousands of people regularly visit zoological parks in the
\ncountry every weekend and holiday.<\/p>\n
With cheap ticket prices, sometimes less than Rp 1,000 (10 US
\ncents), zoos have become one of the most affordable holiday
\ndestinations for families.<\/p>\n
At Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta, Sundays are always busy, with
\nchildren enjoying themselves watching the gigantic elephants or
\nthe tigers and lions in their enclosures. Some adults feed the
\norangutans peanuts and corn, and families smile happily as they
\nhave their pictures taken with baby white tigers.<\/p>\n
It seems like everybody at the zoo has a good time -- except
\nfor the animals. Elephants have massive chains around their feet,
\norangutans are crammed into small cages, and even the lions and
\ntigers look skinny and sick.<\/p>\n
The poor condition of animals in the country's zoos was
\ndiscovered during a recent investigation by the London-based
\nWorld Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and one of its
\nmember societies, Animal Conservation for Life (KSBK).<\/p>\n
The zoos they investigated are the Perancak Animal Park in
\nWest Bali; Taru Jurug in Surakarta, Central Java; Tinjomoyo Zoo
\nin Semarang; Surabaya Zoo in Surabaya; Medan Zoo in Medan, North
\nSumatra; Gembira Loka in Yogyakarta; Tamansari in Bandung;
\nRagunan in Jakarta; Pematang Siantar in North Sumatra; and the
\nIndonesia Safari Park II in Prigen, East Java.<\/p>\n
The five-month investigation was documented in a report called
\nCaged Cruelty.<\/p>\n
Purwo Kuncoro, an investigator from KSBK's Bali office, said
\nthe condition of the animals in those zoos was very poor.<\/p>\n
\"I felt pity for these animals. They are being exploited to
\nentertain visitors without receiving proper treatment from the
\nzoos' managements,\" Purwo said.<\/p>\n
The investigation report, released in Surabaya, East Java,
\nlast month, disclosed that 99 percent of the enclosures at the
\nzoos failed to accommodate the basic biological and behavioral
\nneeds of the animals -- with 82 percent failing to provide
\nsufficient space and 68 percent going uncleaned for prolonged
\nperiods of time.<\/p>\n
The report also said that around half of the animals seen did
\nnot have sufficient access to water. In many cases, water was
\nonly available from the ditches around their enclosures, which
\nwas usually stagnant.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think the existing problems are merely caused by
\ninadequate funding, which has been used frequently as an excuse
\nby the zoos' managements to justify their neglect,\" commented
\nPurwo.<\/p>\n
During the team's investigation, Purwo and his colleagues saw
\nmany idle zoo employees who were obviously in need of
\nencouragement and guidance from their superiors.<\/p>\n
\"Many of them were simply hanging around doing nothing to
\nmaintain the welfare of the animals. They were typically
\nIndonesian public servants,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The zoo employees, he said, could be more attentive and
\ncreative if they put in the effort.<\/p>\n
\"I know some of them are knowledgeable but they are reluctant
\nto dedicate themselves to improving the condition of the
\nanimals.\"<\/p>\n
And worst of all, a number of zoo keepers are involved in the
\nillegal animal trade and smuggling.<\/p>\n
\"I was offered a tiger skin for only Rp 100,000 by a zoo
\nkeeper in Surabaya ... imagine that,\" he said, adding that an
\nemployee at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta offered him a wild bear cub.<\/p>\n
Some animals like lions, tigers and bears have gone missing
\nfrom zoos after being reported as having died in their cages.<\/p>\n
One zoo keeper told the police he had sold animals to a number
\nof influential people in Indonesia, including the governor of
\nJakarta, who immediately denied the allegation.<\/p>\n
\"It is very hard to fight against the illegal trade of wild
\nanimals since it is reported to involve Army generals, prominent
\nbusinessmen and high-ranking government officials,\" Purwo said.<\/p>\n
\"Just leave it to the police and courts to deal with. What is
\nmore important is the welfare of the animals and the safety of
\nzoo visitors.\"<\/p>\n
A veterinarian at Bali's Environment Development Center, Dr.
\nWita Wahyudi, said there were numerous easy, effective and
\ninexpensive ways to improve the health and welfare of zoo
\nanimals.<\/p>\n
\"The majority of animals in the investigated zoos are
\nstressed. A similar condition, a form of mental torment, was
\nshown by an estimated 50 percent of the animals at these zoos, as
\nseen from the pacing or repetitive swaying (of the animals),\"
\nWita said.<\/p>\n
She also found many of the animals were malnourished and
\nsuffered from serious illnesses.<\/p>\n
\"Some primates like orangutans suffer from TB and hepatitis,\"
\nthe veterinarian said.<\/p>\n
She also found different types of deadly worms underneath the
\nskins of tigers and lions in several zoos, including the Perancak
\nAnimal Park in Bali.<\/p>\n
\"There are holes in the animals' skins which probably hurt
\nvery much,\" Wita said.<\/p>\n
And cases of serious abuse of animals were also recorded at
\nseveral zoos.<\/p>\n
In the Surabaya Zoo, for instance, an orangutan was frequently
\nbeaten with a bamboo stick by its trainer while posing for photos
\nwith zoo visitors, who paid Rp 2,000 each.<\/p>\n
In Tinjomoyo Zoo in Semarang, Central Java, visitors were
\nencouraged to feed the animals ice cream and candy. Visitors were
\nalso seen offering cigarettes to orangutans.<\/p>\n
At Surabaya Zoo, several animals have died in recent years
\nafter eating trash thrown in their enclosures by visitors.<\/p>\n
\"The problem with most Indonesians is that they lack the
\ndiscipline and knowledge of how to treat zoo animals,\" Wita said.<\/p>\n
Purwo said that the zoos put up signs spelling out the rules
\nfor visitors, but most people ignored the signs.<\/p>\n
\"The zoo keepers must do their jobs by repeatedly reminding
\nthe visitors not to feed or disturb the animals,\" said Purwo.<\/p>\n
The investigation, hopefully, will increase people's awareness
\nabout the need to protect and look after the health and safety of
\nzoo animals.<\/p>\n
The director of KSBK's Indonesian headquarters in Malang, East
\nJava, Rosek Nurhadi, suggested that zoos like the Perancak Animal
\nPark in Bali should be closed down for the safety of both the
\nanimals and the visitors.<\/p>\n
\"The investigation is intended to open the eyes of zoo
\nmanagements, the government, the public and related parties to
\ncreate safe and educative zoological parks.\"<\/p>",
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