Indonesia
Indonesia is formed by a group of 17,508 islands and extends over 3000 kilometres along the equator, covering a wide range of habitats. There are more than 1000 species of birds (such as cockatoos and birds of paradise), more than 500 mammas (including the orangutan, rhino, tiger and elephant) and the staggering 250,000 species of insects. The country has 50 national parks, six of which were designated as World Heritage sites (the Komodo National Park in the Lesser Sunda Islands and Gunung Leuser National Park in Sumatra are two of them). Indonesia is also known for its coral reefs, and the provinces of Bali and Java are popular snorkelling and diving destinations.
More information about responsible diving.
Zoos
You can find zoos in most Indonesian cities. Many of them were established during the Dutch occupation and unfortunately most of the facilities have improved very little since then. These facilities have mainly commercial purposes and their conservation, education and research work is almost non-existent. The animals tend to live in precarious conditions, in spaces without any type of environmental enrichment and many of them are forced to carry-out unnatural activities.
Protected areas and palm oil
Palm oil industry is growing fast, since the product is used in many ways, including food, cosmetics, bio-diesel, etc. However, the large plantations used to produce high amounts of oil are devastating to the environment. In Indonesia, natural habitats of many species are being destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations. Much of the expansion of oil palms in Indonesia is taking place in forested peat bogs, many of which are protected areas. The government has rented protected areas to oil companies and in other cases plantations have been illegally created in these areas with little or no recrimination.
Masked monkeys
Jakarta used to be famous for its masked monkeys, forced to act for tourists in the streets. These animals lived in small cages and were trained with cruel methods, like hanging them upside down or keeping them with their arms tied in the back. In fact, many of them died during the training. In October 2013, the governor of Jakarta finally decided to put an end to this terrible business, confiscating the animals and offering money and education to their “trainers” so that they could find new jobs.
Manta ray sanctuary
On February 20, 2014, Indonesia has officially become the home of the largest manta ray sanctuary in the world, with an area of 46,000 square kilometers in Raja Ampat,a zone considered to be of high-risk due to overfishing and climate change.
The new legislation, which grants full protection to these animals, is the result of a study which showed that throughout its life, a single manta ray could generate a million dollar benefit for the tourism industry and only between 40 to 500 dollars if caught dead.
Turtle “conservation”
Serangan, or the “Turtle Island” in Bali, announced itself as a turtle conservation area financed by the government. However, many recent reports suggest that the emphasis is much more on being a tourist attraction with little respect for the conservation and welfare of animals. A tourist contacted the British organization Care for the Wild saying: “The whole experience was horrible, the water was muddy, the animals were in overcrowded conditions and seemed to be kept there exclusively for tourist photos. The whole place made us feel very uncomfortable and we wanted to leave. It may be a good faith project that has gotten out of hand, but I thought it was worth warning of the situation. ” Trip Advisor has many more similar comments. More information.
Alas Kedaton Temple reserve?
Alas Kedaton is yet another center which, while looking like a nature reserve, keeps animals for profit. The center (supposedly sacred) has a large number of monkeys as well as giant bats, also known as flying foxes. Here tourists are allowed to take photos, touch and play with these animals. Interactions of this type can not only cause severe stress in animals, but also involve risks for visitors, since a bite by flying fox can transmit a large number of zoonotic pathogens such as rabies and even the Ebola virus.
Elephants
In this country tourists can also hire elephant rides, an activity that involves very serious physical and psychological problems for these animals, and encounter false rescue centers where these animals are forced to carry out unnatural activities and interact with tourists. For more information read here and here.
Dog and cat meat
Dog and cat meat is a popular dish in some Asian countries, including parts of Indonesia, for example aforementioned Bali. While the consumption of these animals could be considered “cultural”, there is no humane way to kill them – one of the methods is hanging them by the neck and letting them die slowly since it is believed that if the animal is stressed when it dies, the meat becomes more nutritious. In some menus it is indicated that the dishes are made with meat of these animals while other restaurants, aware of the possible criticism of tourists, prefer to indicate that the meat is of other species. For more information read here.
BAWA is one of the most important local animal protection organizations which mainly deals with stray dogs and cats in Bali.
Horse carriage rides
In Gili islands (Bali) – an archipelago composed of three small and beautiful islands situated right in front of Lombok – the most used means of transport to displace tourists are small carriages pulled by horses. These animals are frequently extremely thin and have to spend long hours in the sun moving loads which are too heavy for their anatomy. Several organizations are asking local administrations to replace these carriages with others that run on solar energy, but so far there has been no positive response in this regard. Travelers who do not want to encourage this type of practice can travel on foot or by bicycle (as indicated before, the three islands are very small and can be travelled perfectly on foot). More information here.
Stray animals
Indonesia has a large amount of stray animals which often live in very bad conditions. The stray cat and dog populations are controlled by unregulated mass slaughter which usually involves very cruel slaughter methods. If you find these animals, you can help them by giving them some food or water, but avoiding close contact with them in order to avoid contagious illnesses. Before traveling you can find the contacts of local animal protection NGOs to inform them in case you find very ill animals or victims of animal abuse, or in case you want to make a donation.
Souvenirs and exotic animal markets
In Indonesia you can find exotic souvenirs made from animal parts or live animals. However, just because the items are openly exposed for sale does not mean that it is ethical or legal to acquire them. The purchase of souvenirs with animal parts is totally inadvisable since they may have been obtained through animal cruelty, and their sale may even be illegal, as for example, in the case of puppets made with turtle parts.
The purchase of exotic animals as pets is also widespread in this country, especially regarding slow lorises and macaques. Many of these exotic animals that can be purchased in markets and other sites come from traffickers who capture them from the wild; others are bred in captivity to meet this demand. In most cases, these animals are kept in deplorable conditions and even mutilated so that they could not attack or hurt tourists or shoppers. In this regard, we recommend watching this video that shows how slow lorises, a highly threatened species, are "prepared" for sale in these markets. More information here.
Cockfights
Cockfights are another type of traditional Indonesian entertainment. Originally they constituted bloody religious offerings, since before the ritual holidays the temple was sprinkled with the blood of a rooster to scare away the spirits. Today, unfortunately, this ritual has gotten widespread until it became one of the great passions of the people. Cockfights usually take place especially in Bali, and to make you must get a special permission from the authorities, although in reality the fights take place almost every day in various locations. Having in mind the cruelty of these fights and the fact that these are possibly illegal events, it is very important for tourists not to attend this type of events.
Swimming with dolphins and dolphin shows
In several places in Bali you can find companies or hotels which keep dolphins in captivity and offer tourists the possibility to swim, interact and participate in “therapy” with these animals. Unfortunately, Rick O'Barry also denounces the existence of 3 traveling dolphin circuses in Indonesia which illegally enslaved a total of 72 cetaceans, many of which were captured from the wild.
We invite all the travelers which are thinking to attend or participate in such activities to read more information about the serious problems involved in them in the following pages:
Animals on the menu
One of the typical dishes of traditional Asian medicine is the pangolin fetus soup. The practitioners of this medicine believe that eating the fetus of this animal increase the virility in men.
The serious problem is that these animals only have one young per litter, and the growing demand of this meat has led to an uncontrolled hunting of these animals which are currently on the verge of extinction.
More information about typical dishes with animals’ products here.
Kopi Luwak/Civet coffee
Travelers visiting Indonesia or East Timor will be offered to try the famous civet coffee, also known as the most expensive café in the world. What they should know before ordering this drink is that this pricy product is achieved through the abuse of many animals. The Asian palm civets, small mammals typical in these areas, are kept in small cages and fed by force following a debilitating based on coffee fruits so that their feces could be used for producing the famous Kopi Luwak (civet coffee).
An increasing number of "farms" of these animals are emerging throughout Southeast Asia, confining tens of thousands of these animals to live in tiny cages after being hunted from the wild.
Rescue centers and recommended projects:
Isla de Nusa Penida (Bali) Friends of the National Parks Foundation
Kalimantan, Borneo. Friends of the National Parks Foundation
IAR's Primate Rehabilitation Centre
Here is a list of local NGOs that can be contacted in case you want to make a donation, a complaint or find an animal that needs help in Indonesia:
If you want to report a crime against wildlife you can contact: Department of Forestry +62-21-5731820
