25th of June 2016
Press Release
The Scorpion Foundation claim Kasang Kulim Zoo, Riau Province, Sumatra, is the worst zoo in all of Indonesia.
Scorpion are especially worried about the four orangutans at the zoo. The cages are old, bare, and completely unsuitable for orangutans. And, no one at the zoo has the knowledge and skills to know how to care properly for the orangutans as well as other animals.
Director of Scorpion Foundation, Gunung Gea says: “Twice we have written to the Directorate of Biodiversity, asking for all four orangutans to be confiscated. It is wrong for the Directorate to leave these orangutans suffering at this very bad zoo. They could easily die at any time from neglect.”
One orangutan, named ‘Boy’ was wild-caught and kept as a pet by a military officer until handed to the zoo to keep. This orangutan should immediately be sent to the specialist orangutan rescue centre in Sumatra.
Gunung Gea continued: "We are very disappointed with the handling of orangutans in Riau by the Directorate of Biodiversity. Therefore, we appeal today to Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar to instruct her staff to remove all four orangutans from the zoo, immediately. In time, maybe they could all be returned to the forest – where they belong.
The Scorpion Foundation have made four visits to Kasang Kulim zoo. On each visit they saw no keeper supervision and visitors feeding junk food to orangutans. On the last visit the investigator was recognised by staff who threatened and chased him out of the zoo.
On March 16, 2016, the Programme Director of Scorpion Foundation, Gunung Gea, met the Director Biodiversity Conservation Mr. Bambang Dahono Adji in Jakarta to discuss orangutan in Kasang Kulim. He said he would send a team to inspect the condition of the orangutans. Until now the four orangutans are still in Kasang Kulim.
Gunung Gea adds, “Orangutans are national treasures of Indonesia. They deserve our respect and protection. They belong in the wild and not caged like criminals behind bars and concrete.
