Born Free Foundation - Keep Wildlife in the Wild

Whilst we work hard to improve conditions and legal requirements for captive animals in Europe and America, the sad fact is that many countries have no animal welfare legislation at all, and captive facilities with apallingly mistreated animals are able to persist and even multiply. Such is currently the case in Indonesia, where the establishment of privately owned ‘animal parks’ is on the increase and surveys in 2001 and 2006 both found that around 90% failed to meet basic welfare standards. Whilst the local Forestry Department has authority over such establishments they have generally lacked the political will or expertise to address this issue.

The province of East Java, on the country’s most populous island, already has at least 10 animal parks with this number set to rise. However, the local Forest Department has recently taken a bold and progressive decision to evaluate and improve the welfare conditions in these facilities. Working with local groups, the Indonesian Society for Animal Welfare and ProFauna Indonesia, it is developing the knowledge, skills and strategy required to crack down on such establishments across the province.

The first stage in developing this programme was a workshop held in December 2007 and funded by the World Society for the Protection of Animals, Born Free and the Humane Society International (Australia). The three day event was attended by over 100 Forest Department officers and covered a broad introdution to animal welfare, behavioural enrichment, and evaluating captive animal facilities. As well as increasing the skills of the attendees it also further cemented the relationship between the local groups and the authorities, and the commitment to proceed with the programme.

A second workshop is now planned for May to make these plans a reality, with funding again from WSPA, Born Free, HSI-Australia and now also HSI-US. This will provide more detailed training, and will include an official site inspection by the Forest Department’s newly established zoo check team which is exepcted to lead to the first ever welfare standards enforcement for such a facility in Indonesia. The team will provide recommendations for improvements and if they are not met within a specified timeframe the authorities will penalise the facility. It is the first step on a long road, but it will begin a vital journey that will improve the lives of many suffering animals and hopefully set precedents throughout Indonesia and the entire region.