Elephants in Bali starved to ‘skin and bones’

Over a dozen elephants were left undernourished in a Bali elephant park due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Forced to close amid the pandemic, Bali Elephant Camp (BEC), a safari-style park offering elephant tourism services, has been struggling to meet its operational costs and fees for the elephant’s care as tourism on the island declines. BEC is part of Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry’s wildlife conservation, which leaves critically endangered Sumatran elephants in the care of privately-owned zoos and safari parks in Indonesia. These zoos and parks were then granted a business permit to sell elephant tourism services. Before the pandemic, BEC was surpassing the animal’s welfare requirements, welcoming three baby elephants over the past 15 years. 

 

Femke Den Haas, a veterinarian who has been active in protecting wildlife in Indonesia for 2 decades, said to Al Jazeera, “They are big animals and you’re not meant to see their bones. But that’s what they were – just skin and bones.”

 

Businesses and industries in Bali including small ones such as BEC have been hit hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government had paid food and electricity costs for BEC as a result. BEC has been doing its best to care for the elephants but couldn’t cover the costs they needed to pay because of the closure of the park. Staff working in BEC have also not been getting their pay, leaving them taking care of the elephants for nothing in return. BEC had failed to resolve the problem within the 2 months duration given to them by the government and had their elephants taken away into new homes. 

 

11 of 14 elephants from BEC are now in Tasta Wildlife Park, regaining weight and recovering. The park along with some elephant parks in Bali are keeping their animals well-fed despite the financial struggles they are facing.

 

While these elephants are getting better care, at the end of the day, they are still being treated harshly in rough conditions. The Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA) said that these elephants are often overworked and are forced to face the heat with a lack of food, water and rest. They are chained for long periods of time, live in fear and don’t get to behave naturally which leads to anxiety and frustration. Haas hopes that tourists will realize what these animals go through and stop riding them and playing with them in swimming pools. Haas also hopes that tourists can see elephants in sanctuaries where they are treated better instead of parks or zoos. Tourists don’t have to touch the elephants or take selfies with them and just admire them from a distance.