ProFauna Encourages Day Offs for Zoo Animals

The new policy employed by Ragunan zoo in Jakarta to close the park one day in a week has got ProFauna's support. The policy would benefit the animals, so that they could have a chance to rest as well as give time for the staffs to repair and improve the enrichments on the cages. This will surely reduce the boredom and stress level of the animals.

Drh. Wita Wahyudi, a senior veterinarian and also a member of ProFauna's advisory board, stated "ProFauna supports the day off policy for zoo animals, and it should be adapted by all the other zoos in the country." Wita, who used to manage Bali wildlife rehabilitation center, added "In addition to the day off policy, there should be also a hiding space for the animals in each cage. Therefore, they can get inside it whenever they do not feel like interacting with the visitors."

ProFauna will encourage this day off policy to be made officially regulated by the Ministry of Forestry, who is in charge of the supervision of Indonesian zoos. "ProFauna also hopes that the ministry could be more proactive in administering and enhancing the zoos, first by improving the licensing procedures based on higher standards to ensure the welfare of the animals," said Wita.

While highly appreciates this progress, ProFauna also criticizes the rampant night zoo attraction. "ProFauna sees such attraction as a severe torture for the animals, because they are supposed to rest at night. The night zoo is entirely exploitative business, there is no conservation value in it," concluded WIta.