TEMPO Interactive, Malang:The Malang Recreation Park City (Tarekot) has been shut down. Its collection of animals will be transferred to the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of East Java. "The animals will be handed over to the BKSDA gradually," said Head of Culture and Tourism of Malang city, Ida Ayu Wahyuni, on September 5. This decision was taken after a discussion with the Ministry of Forestry and BKSDA of East Java in August. The Tarekot animals will be entrusted to a conservation agency in Probolinggo, which is considered more qualified as a wildlife conservation park. Ida recognizes that Tarekot does not meet the requirements for a conservation institution. Health facilities are lacking and cages are in poor condition. Tarekot has been managed by a technical implementation unit with a collection of 103 animals from 33 species, including six mammals, two primates, and 24 birds. Tarekot was established 10 years ago. It cares for a variety of endangered species, some of which are donated or left temporarily by residents. In 2010, as many as a deer and four Javanese eagles died. Today, Tarekot, which is located behind Malang City Hall, has been turned into a recreational park which houses non-protected animals. Garden flowers, ornamental plants, and a swimming pool grace the place which is not too wide because it borders with the banks of the Brantas river. Chair of ProFauna Indonesia, Rosek Nursahid, agrees that Tarekot is unfit to be a conservation park. It is not safe for the animals, its cages are unsuitable, and it does not have adequate health facilities. "There is no vet on duty. Many animals die," he said. Based on observation on the ground, he says, the conditions of the cage are so poor causing animals to suffer and die from stress. Moreover, the food provided does not meet the needs either. When they are transferred, it should be to a place that can take care of their welfare. "Don’t just move them, but the conditions are no different," he said. EKO WIDIANTO