Indonesia is the tourism heaven for those who crave for enjoying natural beauty and diverse culture. The most popular tourism sites include Papua, Bali, Yogyakarta and Lombok. Problem is, to make these sites more attractive endangered species are often exploited to the visitors and consequently increase their risk of survival. Here you will find out about the places that exploit wild animals to visitors and why you should avoid them:
Sea Turtle Parks:
Such parks that display and use sea turtles to attract tourist are found in Bali, Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa. These endangered animals are kept in saltwater ponds so that tourists can take photos with them and even in some cases, ride them. Capturing and holding these animals are completely illegal. But the worst part is, once these turtles have served their purpose as attractive showpieces, they are often slaughtered for meat. Using sea turtles as a tourist attraction and holding them in the name of conservation is equally illegal and the matter is directly protected by Indonesian laws.
Bird Markets:
The next place you should avoid for the sake of your responsibility for wildlife is the bird markets that you will find in almost all the big cities of Indonesia. Java, Sumatera, Bali and Kalimantan are no exceptions. In addition to selling regular birds, you can also find many endangered species like gibbon, leopard cat, langur, pangolin, orangutan and many more. The birds that you will find here are handled and transported with cruelty. The hunting process is sometimes so aggressive that many birds often die of fatal injuries. If you decide to buy any animals from these bird markets then you will be violating Indonesian wildlife act.
Circus/Shows:
We can hardly find any people who do not like animals performing and this is the main reason for circuses and such animal shows being so popular. However, did you ever think what goes behind the curtain? The trainers handle and train their animals with cruel methods, often using pain and hunger as training motivator. Those poor animals are taught to fear every single movement the trainer does and to obey. Otherwise, they are often beaten cruelly.
Animal Fight:
Animal fights are common in Bali, Flores, Sulawesi and Sumatera. Mainly goat, cock and ox are used in these fights. Animals that already have an aggressive characteristic are players here. You should not support this game because the fights are very cruel and both animals suffer a lot. Fatal consequences are not that much irregular.
Endangered Animals on Hotel Displays:
You will find some hotels in Indonesia that hold animals in cages or glass displays like living ornaments. The very idea is cruel because these animals do not get their natural food. What is worse, people staying at these hotels like to poke and irritate these animals, increasing their suffering a few more degrees. Try not to stay in one of these hotels and even if you do, do not forget to ask the hotel authorities if they have proper permission for keeping these animals captive and how they were acquired. This is your responsibility because holding wild animals captive is against Indonesian wildlife act.
