TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Indonesian zoos launch ‘Food for Animals’ fundraiser as pandemic devours revenue
Change Size
Parman, an animal keeper at the Bandung Zoological Garden feeds two tapirs named Bona, aged 3, and Hegar, aged 5, on Saturday, April 25. (JP/Arya Dipa)
T
he Indonesian Zoo Association (PKBSI) has launched an online fundraiser asking members of the public to help feed thousands of animals in captivity across the country as zoo revenue all but disappears during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The campaign – called Food for Animals – is seeking funds to improve the living conditions of animals in Indonesian zoos, especially those endemic to the country, such as the Sumatran tiger, the Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran elephant.
“Every conservation center in Indonesia has been out of operation since March. However, operational costs related to supplies of animal feed, medicine and salaries for keepers and veterinarians still have to be provided,” the association wrote on its official Instagram account @pkbsi on Saturday.
Read also: Medan Zoo seeks donations to feed animals at risk of 'dying from hunger'
It went on to say that every donation it received would be immediately distributed to the zoos affiliated with the association that were most affected by the ongoing health and economic crisis.
A survey conducted by the PKBSI last month showed that 92 percent of the association’s members in Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok and Borneo – 55 zoos – had only enough stock to feed their animals until mid-May.
The survey also found that only three zoos would be able to provide food for one to three months, while only two had enough for more than three months.
The association’s member zoos house more than 70,000 animals from 4,912 species endemic to Indonesia and from other species from outside of the country’s ecosystems.
