Zoo wall brings protests

Zoo wall brings protests

BANDUNG, West Java: Members of the Indonesian Architects
Association (IAI) and conservation group Bandung Heritage are
protesting the construction of a wall surrounding the zoo.

The zoo's management a fortnight ago began chopping down a
wire and plant hedge surrounding the zoo located on Jl.
Tamansari, and built a three-meter tall wall instead.

"Bandung needs city woodland in line with its concept as a
garden city. The zoo has been the forest. The walls only ruin the
view and exclude the zoo from the public," IAI member Dibyo
Hartono who is also a member of Bandung Heritage told The Jakarta
Post.

He added that based on building regulations the wall's height
should not exceed 2.5 meters. Fences higher than that must be
transparent or use plants, he added.

Head of the Tamansari Fauna Foundation Yunus Purnawan who
manages the zoo said that the walls are aimed at protecting the
animals.

"We've lost several animals in burglaries. Visitors also often
climb the fence to get into the zoo without paying," he said.

The construction of the wall fence, which is 75 percent
complete, has now been delayed until the parties reach a
compromise. (25)