Local zoos have no place for animals

Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Going to the zoo must be a good time for children and parents, since thousands of people regularly visit zoological parks in the country every weekend and holiday.

With cheap ticket prices, sometimes less than Rp 1,000 (10 US cents), zoos have become one of the most affordable holiday destinations for families.

At Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta, Sundays are always busy, with children enjoying themselves watching the gigantic elephants or the tigers and lions in their enclosures. Some adults feed the orangutans peanuts and corn, and families smile happily as they have their pictures taken with baby white tigers.

It seems like everybody at the zoo has a good time -- except for the animals. Elephants have massive chains around their feet, orangutans are crammed into small cages, and even the lions and tigers look skinny and sick.

The poor condition of animals in the country's zoos was discovered during a recent investigation by the London-based World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and one of its member societies, Animal Conservation for Life (KSBK).

The zoos they investigated are the Perancak Animal Park in West Bali; Taru Jurug in Surakarta, Central Java; Tinjomoyo Zoo in Semarang; Surabaya Zoo in Surabaya; Medan Zoo in Medan, North Sumatra; Gembira Loka in Yogyakarta; Tamansari in Bandung; Ragunan in Jakarta; Pematang Siantar in North Sumatra; and the Indonesia Safari Park II in Prigen, East Java.

The five-month investigation was documented in a report called Caged Cruelty.

Purwo Kuncoro, an investigator from KSBK's Bali office, said the condition of the animals in those zoos was very poor.

"I felt pity for these animals. They are being exploited to entertain visitors without receiving proper treatment from the zoos' managements," Purwo said.

The investigation report, released in Surabaya, East Java, last month, disclosed that 99 percent of the enclosures at the zoos failed to accommodate the basic biological and behavioral needs of the animals -- with 82 percent failing to provide sufficient space and 68 percent going uncleaned for prolonged periods of time.

The report also said that around half of the animals seen did not have sufficient access to water. In many cases, water was only available from the ditches around their enclosures, which was usually stagnant.

"I don't think the existing problems are merely caused by inadequate funding, which has been used frequently as an excuse by the zoos' managements to justify their neglect," commented Purwo.

During the team's investigation, Purwo and his colleagues saw many idle zoo employees who were obviously in need of encouragement and guidance from their superiors.

"Many of them were simply hanging around doing nothing to maintain the welfare of the animals. They were typically Indonesian public servants," he said.

The zoo employees, he said, could be more attentive and creative if they put in the effort.

"I know some of them are knowledgeable but they are reluctant to dedicate themselves to improving the condition of the animals."

And worst of all, a number of zoo keepers are involved in the illegal animal trade and smuggling.

"I was offered a tiger skin for only Rp 100,000 by a zoo keeper in Surabaya ... imagine that," he said, adding that an employee at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta offered him a wild bear cub.

Some animals like lions, tigers and bears have gone missing from zoos after being reported as having died in their cages.

One zoo keeper told the police he had sold animals to a number of influential people in Indonesia, including the governor of Jakarta, who immediately denied the allegation.

"It is very hard to fight against the illegal trade of wild animals since it is reported to involve Army generals, prominent businessmen and high-ranking government officials," Purwo said.

"Just leave it to the police and courts to deal with. What is more important is the welfare of the animals and the safety of zoo visitors."

A veterinarian at Bali's Environment Development Center, Dr. Wita Wahyudi, said there were numerous easy, effective and inexpensive ways to improve the health and welfare of zoo animals.

"The majority of animals in the investigated zoos are stressed. A similar condition, a form of mental torment, was shown by an estimated 50 percent of the animals at these zoos, as seen from the pacing or repetitive swaying (of the animals)," Wita said.

She also found many of the animals were malnourished and suffered from serious illnesses.

"Some primates like orangutans suffer from TB and hepatitis," the veterinarian said.

She also found different types of deadly worms underneath the skins of tigers and lions in several zoos, including the Perancak Animal Park in Bali.

"There are holes in the animals' skins which probably hurt very much," Wita said.

And cases of serious abuse of animals were also recorded at several zoos.

In the Surabaya Zoo, for instance, an orangutan was frequently beaten with a bamboo stick by its trainer while posing for photos with zoo visitors, who paid Rp 2,000 each.

In Tinjomoyo Zoo in Semarang, Central Java, visitors were encouraged to feed the animals ice cream and candy. Visitors were also seen offering cigarettes to orangutans.

At Surabaya Zoo, several animals have died in recent years after eating trash thrown in their enclosures by visitors.

"The problem with most Indonesians is that they lack the discipline and knowledge of how to treat zoo animals," Wita said.

Purwo said that the zoos put up signs spelling out the rules for visitors, but most people ignored the signs.

"The zoo keepers must do their jobs by repeatedly reminding the visitors not to feed or disturb the animals," said Purwo.

The investigation, hopefully, will increase people's awareness about the need to protect and look after the health and safety of zoo animals.

The director of KSBK's Indonesian headquarters in Malang, East Java, Rosek Nurhadi, suggested that zoos like the Perancak Animal Park in Bali should be closed down for the safety of both the animals and the visitors.

"The investigation is intended to open the eyes of zoo managements, the government, the public and related parties to create safe and educative zoological parks."