Sometimes rescued wild animals end up in zoos. But the wild animals in Indonesia's zoos are actually the ones that need rescuing.
It wasn't too long ago when the Surabaya Zoo, known by its critics as the "Zoo of Death" made headlines across the globe. The park was reportedly losing 25 of its 4,000 head menagerie per day and was reeling from the death of one of its Sumatran tigers. Another one of their tigers, Melani, was shown in photos to be so emaciated that officials were forced to consider euthanizing her to put her out of her misery.
That was nearly six years ago, but it seems like welfare standards for Indonesia's zoo animals haven't improved since then. The public is now in an uproar about more animals from various Indonesian zoos that are visibly suffering, starving or neglected.
According to one Indonesian animal rights group, 90% of all the zoos in Indonesia should be shut down. The organization based its conclusion on the ability of the assessed zoos to satisfy five key criteria: keeping animals free from hunger and thirst, free from pain and injury, free from discomfort, free to behave as they would in the wild and free from stress.
The zoos failed miserably and it's no wonder why. Video of a rail-thin bear scratching its back against its enclosure has recently gone viral. Pics of monkeys, snakes, and crocodiles living in absolute filth and clips of tigers forced to sit still and pose with tourists have all brought the ire of the animal-loving public onto Indonesian zoos. Yet the government continues to allow them to remain open with seemingly no oversight or welfare standards.
Zoo operators are able to profit off their animals even as they deny them a good life and a minimum standard of care. It's disgusting.
It's time to demand that Indonesia take action to close down these failing zoos and put them out of their misery. Please sign the petition asking for the Indonesian government to shut down their country's substandard zoos and give the animals to actual sanctuaries.
