Elephants to be given away

Elephants to be given away

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: The Ministry of Forestry has scrapped
the Rp 14 million ($6,000) transfer fee it charges for every
tamed elephant from the Way Kambas Elephant Training School.

Eko Wardoyo, the chief of the ministry's Lampung Office, told
Antara that the elephants will be given away to encourage more
people to use the animals.

Graduates from the school have been trained to work on farms
and forest projects as well as in the tourism industry.

Harjanto, the head of Tanjungkarang Nature Conservation
Office, explained that anyone interested in owning an elephant
must still shoulder the costs of transporting, maintaining and
feeding the animal, and pay for the upkeep of an elephant tamer.

The Tanjungkarang Conservation Office is currently training
two elephants ordered by the Yogyakarta Royal Court, eight by the
Bali provincial administration and two each from Batu Raden and
Banjar Negara (East Java). Last month, it sent eight elephants to
PT Wira Karya Sakti, a forestry concession in Jambi. (emb)