On a recent visit to the Bali Marine and Safari Park I witnessed some animals demonstrating extreme signs of torment and distress. Two elephants in particular, on display for feeding [wherein visitors could purchase a small basket of food then hand-feed it to the elephants], were confined to a very small enclosure, probably smaller than the size of a boxing ring. During my 15 minute observation, they just rocked back and forth the whole time, clearly bewildered by their environment.
I questioned one of the employees on the state of these elephants, however staff were reluctant to say much on the issue. Furthermore, I have attempted to contact management at the marine park over the last 6 weeks through various means including email and social media but have not received any response.
My aim is to improve the living conditions of these animals. It is one thing to keep these creatures in captivity but they should at least be afforded adequate space to live comfortably. I am not seeking to close the park. From what I saw, the majority of the animals looked quite healthy and had sizeable enclosures to roam freely [I fear what could happen to the animals if that did happen]. However, this needs to be provided for ALL the animals.
