The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has actually put animal preservation centers in jeopardy.
The Indonesian Zoo Association (PKBSI) stated in a declaration on Saturday that preservation centers throughout the archipelago, especially in Bali, were having a hard time to cover the expenses for food and medicine stocks for the animals in addition to other expenses.
In March, all conservation centers in Indonesia were temporarily near suppress the spread of COVID-19
Although the centers have actually resumed operations with health protocol in place, the association said that revenue from visitors could not cover the costs.
PKBSI chairman Rahman Shah stated the conversation centers required aid from the government as well as regional administrations, discussing that the PKBSI alone could not save them.
Currently, there are 57 preservation centers under the association. The centers are house to 68,933 animals of 4,912 species endemic to Indonesia or from other parts of the world.
A study carried out by the PKBSI in April revealed that 92 percent of the association’s members in Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok and Kalimantan– 55 zoos– just had sufficient stock to feed their animals until mid-May. The study also found that just three zoos were able to offer food for one to three months, while just 2 had enough for more than three months.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the association had pursued different efforts to help the preservation centers, such as food circulation to all centers and a fundraising program called Food for Animals. The latter was held to enhance the living conditions of animals in zoos, particularly those endemic to the country, such as the Sumatran tiger, the Bornean orangutan and Sumatran elephant.
However, all preservation centers and zoos still depend on revenue from admission tickets, which was greatly affected by the temporary closure of the centers.
The PKBSI added that, although some zoos were managed by local administrations and moneyed by regional spending plans, they still required funds from ticket sales.
With regard to the income collected in the pre-coronavirus days, the PKBSI stated that the funds had actually been utilized to construct new centers and cover expenses over the previous 5 months, discussing that the functional costs for all conservation centers were around Rp 35 billion (US$ 2,379 million) monthly.
That said, Rahmat urged all celebrations to participate in assisting the centers through different efforts, including that they needed help from government institutions, such as tax exemptions from the Finance Ministry, a solution for food stocks from the Forestry and Environment Ministry along with help from the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry to promote the centers. (jes)
Editor’s note: This post becomes part of a public project by the COVID-19 task force to raise individuals’s awareness about the pandemic.
