I

n response to the news and articles published by The Jakarta Post about Surabaya Zoo and “The State of The Ark: Zoos in Indonesia”, (March 26).

I would like to respond as follows:

Some Indonesian zoos have recently come under the spotlight and been the subject of considerable public discussion. This openness is good because people can clearly see what is going on and what action is being taken.

But one case cannot be used as a benchmark to illustrate the state of all Indonesian zoos. And it is completely unfair to compare the situation of an impoverished Indonesian zoo with other zoos abroad.

Zoos in Indonesia are still a relatively new phenomenon, with the oldest one having existed for less than 100 years. Meanwhile, the world’s first scientific zoo, in London, was opened to the public in 1847 and the world’s oldest existing zoo, in Vienna, was founded in 1752.

Not all zoos in Indonesia are poorly managed. For example, Taman Safari Indonesia is one of the best modern zoos in Indonesia and even compares well with other zoos worldwide.

The fundamental problem for zoos in Indonesia is financial; this is especially true of zoos run by government institutions. Funding to support zoos has to go through complicated, time-consuming bureaucratic channels and budgeting needs to be made well in advance — even up to one year ahead.

However, the assets managed by zoos are not inanimate objects, but living animals that have constantly changing needs and conditions.

We need to support zoos, especially the financially struggling ones, to make them better and improve the welfare of their animals.

The Indonesia Zoo and Aquarium Association (IZAA, or PKBSI) is an organization whose main purpose is to ensure professional management of zoos in conservation activities and to help them implement the prevailing animal-welfare rules.

It is an ongoing challenge for the association to alter mindsets that have been embedded for so long. Constant effort and contributions by many parties are therefore required. Also, it needs full support from all levels of society to change the image of zoos in Indonesia.

Everyone must not only criticize zoos that are managed improperly but they must also help them to improve their standards.

The central government, the East Java governor and the zoo association have worked very hard to improve the situation in Surabaya.

Its main problems are: It is an old zoo (built in 1916) covering a total area of 15 hectares with 4,025 animals in it.

For the last 50 years at Surabaya Zoo, nothing has been changed or improved in the animals’ facilities, so we need to evacuate some of the animals to meet the minimum accommodation capacity of the existing enclosures.

There is also an urgent need to establish a species-management plan and bring in new animals for those species that are inbreeding.

The zoo needs to be rebuilt to make it a better place for the remaining animals and the human resources need to be restructured. Hopefully, some private investors will be willing to invest in the zoo.

Unfortunately, another key issue, and one that we cannot directly solve, is the political furore caused by a decision made by the new Surabaya mayor against the Forestry Ministry, East Java governor and the Indonesia zoo association.
 
Tony Sumampau
Secretary-General of the Indonesian Zoo and Aquarium Association (izaa)
Jakarta