Park animals hungry as crisis bites<\/p>\n
CISARUA, West Java (JP): The prolonged economic crisis and
\npolitical uncertainty has forced many businesspeople to
\ntemporarily close their factories, shops and offices.<\/p>\n
Some have asked their employees to be understanding and have
\npromised to rehire them as soon as the situation allows.<\/p>\n
But what can zoo owners do when the price of animal feed and
\nmedicine rises sharply?<\/p>\n
The popular Safari Wildlife Park in Cisarua, West Java, boasts
\n2,500 animals in its collection made up of 225 species from five
\ncontinents.<\/p>\n
Animals in the park, especially the carnivorous species, now
\nhave to go without food for up to three days a week.<\/p>\n
A sharp fall in the value of the rupiah against the U.S.
\ndollar which began last July has caused the price of imported and
\nlocally produced animal feed to rise to unaffordable levels.<\/p>\n
The animals need 16 tons of imported meat, chickens, pigs, and
\ntons of fruit, vegetables and fodder every month.<\/p>\n
The park's collection of 70 tigers, the largest in the world
\nand including 27 endangered Sumatran tigers, are now left unfed
\nfor two to three days each week. The imported meat which formerly
\nmade up their diet has become unaffordable to the park's owners
\nand has been replaced with chickens.<\/p>\n
In rupiah terms, the price of imported meat has soared from Rp
\n3,500 per kilogram to Rp 11,000 per kg.<\/p>\n
The price of locally produced feed has also risen sharply and
\nthe park's management are at a loss as to what to do.<\/p>\n
Chicken has risen from Rp 2,000 per kilogram to Rp 7,000 per
\nkg because local farmers have temporarily stopped breeding them,
\nironically because of the soaring cost of chicken feed.<\/p>\n
To stave of bankruptcy for as long as possible, the park's
\nowners, Tony Sumampauw and his relatives Frans Manansang and
\nJansen Manansang, have tried to find cheaper ways to feed the
\nanimals in their collection.<\/p>\n
\"We have no choice,\" Tony told The Jakarta Post, over the
\nweekend.<\/p>\n
However, the cost cutting measures have not met with success
\nand steps such as feeding the tigers unplucked chickens in the
\nhope that the feathers would satisfy their hunger for a longer
\nperiod of time appear to have done more harm than good. Animals
\nhave shown loss of appetite, fallen ill, and some pregnancies
\nhave aborted, Tony said.<\/p>\n
Consequently the management had to spend extra money on
\nmedicines, he added.<\/p>\n
\"We then decided to starve them for a certain number of days
\neach week, which is a closer replication of the conditions which
\nthey would face in the wild,\" Tony explained.<\/p>\n
Daily running costs, made up mostly of food expenses, have
\njumped from Rp 7 million to Rp 18 million since the rupiah
\nplunged in value, while ticket sales now average Rp 4 million.<\/p>\n
\"We are now running the business at a loss,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A drastic drop in the numbers of visitors to the park has
\ncompounded the situation.<\/p>\n
Tony said the 400-hectare park had received almost no foreign
\nvisitors since February. Before the monetary crisis and
\nconsequent social turmoil, foreigners made up 12.5 percent of the
\npark's 1.8 million annual visitors.<\/p>\n
\"Local group visitors, usually 25 percent of our total, have
\nalso been almost non-existent since January,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, he said, related park businesses, including a
\nrecreational playground, the 400-room Safari Garden hotel, 23
\ncaravan units and 15 bungalows, have been running at a loss,
\ndespite the fact that prices have been held at pre-crisis levels.
\nThe recently introduced night safari tour has already been closed
\ndown.<\/p>\n
Similar problems are faced by a second Safari park owned by
\nthe brothers near Jatiarjo village in Prigen, East Java, where
\n500 animals from 100 species are held on a 400-hectare site.<\/p>\n
The animals there need 200 kg of meat, 1 ton of fruit and
\nvegetables, and 6 tons of grass every day.<\/p>\n
\"If things continue as they are we might only survive for a
\nfurther six or seven months,\" Tony said.<\/p>\n
\"We have no idea what will happen to our animals if the
\nsituation worsens,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Tony therefore urged the government to strive to build a
\nbusiness climate that would rebuild confidence and attract
\nvisitors back to his park.<\/p>\n
\"What we are hoping for is economic and political stability,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Fortunately the animals' plight has been drawn to the
\nattention of a number of animal lovers, including former minister
\nJoop Ave and students from Azabu University in Japan, who have
\ndonated funds to the park's management.<\/p>\n
\"I hope that international animal welfare groups and related
\norganizations can temporarily help us fund our operations,\" Tony
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Despite the gloom, the park's management were pleasantly
\nsurprised after 3,462 visitors and 647 cars entered the park on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
\"This is the first crowded Sunday in a long time,\" park
\nspokesman Julius said.<\/p>\n
Most of the visitors were junior high school students
\ncelebrating their graduation, he added. (bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/park-animals-hungry-as-crisis-bites-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}