Story By: Alex Cope; Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder; Agency: Asia Wire Report;
Picture Credit: AsiaWire & AsiaWire/@halocilukba
This zoo has been slammed by the World Wildlife Fund after these photos emerged of monkeys and crocodiles being kept in rubbish-filled cages.
The shocking images were taken at a compound for the Strategic Army Command (Kostrad) located in the city of Depok, in south-western Indonesia’s West Java Province which had a mini-zoo on site.
The photos, which were posted onto social media, show a crocodile swimming in a pool of green water with plastic floating in it and rubbish piled up at the side.
Other images show a monkey, the species of which has not been reported, in a small metal cage which has litter scattered all over the ground inside.
The images show how a Cassowary flightless bird had been given food which appeared to be rotting and slimy.
The images were posted onto social media with a caption describing the conditions as “far from proper” and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Indonesia re-posted the thread.
Animal welfare group Garda Satwa Indonesia contacted the local office of the Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Ministry of Environment and Forestry (BKSDA) to warn them of the animals’ conditions.
The compound responded to the criticism and have reportedly cleaned the enclosures and cages. Spokesman Colonel Adhi Giri Ibrahim said the zoo had been dirty because of the Eid holiday, saying there had been an increase in visitors while many officers had been on leave.
He added that clearer signs warning visitors not to drop litter had been put up in the compound. He added they would work with the BKSDA and would be willing to transfer the animals to a different zoo or release them into the wild if necessary.
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