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n activist has condemned the use of wild animals in circus shows, saying it was simply wild animal exploitation covered by fancy attractions, and should be banned in the country.

The death of a Bengali tiger used in Oriental Circus Indonesia’s show in Asahan regency, North Sumatra several months ago exposed the excessive exploitation of animals and lack of consideration for their health, program director at wildlife trade watchdog Scorpion Indonesia Foundation Gunung Gea said.

He urged the government to stop all forms of circus shows that exploited animals, arguing that such shows did not have educational value and promoted cruelty to animals instead.

Monitoring conducted by Scorpion Indonesia Foundation found that forms animal exploitation allegedly committed by circus shows included making animals hungry so they were easier to command.

“That is what we see as a form of violence,” Gunung told The Jakarta Post recently.

He called on the central government and local administration to refuse Oriental Circus a permit to put on a show in Medan, the province’s capital city.

The foundation, along with other non-governmental organizations, has been campaigning to put an end to circus shows exploiting protected animals.

Gunung claimed that thanks to the campaign, at least two zoos had stopped animal exploitations in their circus shows, namely Gembira Loka in Yogyakarta and Lembah Hijau in Lampung.

A Bengali tiger named “Ehok” from Taman Safari Bogor reportedly died after performing for several days in a circus show presented by Oriental Circus Indonesia in Kisaran, Asahan regency, in September 2017. Activists alleged the tiger died because of its weakening physical condition caused by some sickness.

Head of North Sumatra Natural Resource Conservation Agency, Hotmauli Sianturi, said his office had no authority to revoke the Oriental Circus’ license for the show because it was in the hands of the Environment and Forestry Ministry. “We are only responsible for the license to transport the animals,” he said on Friday.

Before issuing the license to transfer animals for the circus show in Medan, a team from the agency had checked the condition of the animals. “All were declared to be in a healthy condition, which is why the license for their transport was issued,” he said.

Meanwhile Maria Cristiani of Oriental Circus Indonesia confirmed the death of the Bengali tiger while they were performing in Asahan. However, she denied that the tiger died from exploitation, citing that it was a kidney problem that had caused its death.

Maria also denied the accusation that the circus group did not pay attention to the wellbeing of the animals by not giving them enough food.

“Their food is even more special than ours,” Maria, who is a senior circus performer, told The Post on the sidelines of a press conference in Medan on Friday. The show in Medan will run until Feb. 11.

Maria said their performance in Medan was not the first in the province as the group had traveled around North Sumatra to perform in Asahan, Tebing Tinggi, Pematang Siantar, Binjai and Deli Serdang. Oriental Circus Indonesia had also acquired a permit to present the animals from the Environment and Forestry Ministry. The circus received four species of animals from Taman Safari Conservation Park in Bogor, West Java for their tour performances in Indonesia. They comprise four Sumatran tigers, four Bengali tigers, four cockatoos and four Macau birds.

Since the animals were lent to the circus group in 2011, they have all been in fine condition except for the Bengali tiger, which died from illness, claimed Maria.

Conservation activists have long voiced concern over the use of animals in traveling circuses, referring to it as cruelty against animals. Concerns had also been raised about circus groups traveling to big cities like Jakarta and Yogyakarta, using dolphins as their main attraction.