Indonesia's Minister of Environment, Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, has emphasized the need to establish national standards for zoo management, including regulations on enclosure sizes and animal welfare indicators.
“We still face a fundamental issue—the absence of a national standard for zoo management, including enclosure sizes and animal welfare indicators,” he said in a statement issued on Thursday.
Nurofiq noted that Indonesia has yet to implement clear guidelines for zoo operations, such as specific space requirements for each animal species.
He cited examples from other countries, where up to two hectares of land are allocated for a wild cow to live independently.
However, he stressed that international standards cannot be directly applied in Indonesia due to land limitations. For instance, Surabaya Zoo has only around 15 hectares of land.
“This is what we refer to as animal welfare, but here it’s different. Therefore, we need to develop our own specific criteria,” Nurofiq explained.
To address this, the Ministry of Environment plans to hold intensive discussions with the Indonesian Zoo Communication Forum (FKKGI) and Taman Safari Indonesia to create standards tailored to the country’s geographic and ecological context.
Nurofiq added that by June this year, the ministry aims to introduce supporting instruments, including technical standards for zoo animal management.
He said the drafting process will adopt international standards and adapt them to suit local conditions
“Some of these instruments have already been compiled through a ‘collect and translate’ method carried out by the ministry’s biodiversity deputy,” he added.
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Translator: Astrid, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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