Medan Zoo's 5 Tiger Deaths Sparks Widespread Concern, KLHK: We Warned the Management
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16 February 2024 16:36 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) has sent a warning to Medan Zoo, the North Sumatran zoo managed by Medan City regional public company. KLHK unveiled the zoo’s horrid conservation management far before the recent sequential deaths of five tigers living in the enclosure, the Director General of Natural Resource and Ecosystem Conservation (KSDAE) Satyawan Pudyatmoko told Tempo on Thursday.
Satyawan confirmed the deaths of the Medan Zoo tigers that occurred from November 6, 2023, to February 13, 2024. Three Sumatran tigers and two Bengal tigers were found dead throughout the time period due to incurable illnesses.
According to Satyawan, the tigers were a part of the eleven enclosed in Medan Zoo. "On the first death of a Sumatran Tiger on November 6, 2023, we have deployed an Incidental Evaluation Team," he said.
All tigers at Medan Zoo had undergone medical and laboratory examinations. This, Satyawan admitted, was part of the training and monitoring carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry through the Directorate General of KSDAE and the North Sumatra KSDA Center since April 2023, or after finding that the management of the zoo did not meet the standards of conservation institutions.
"Especially regarding the inadequate animal welfare, including cage facilities and environmental management," Setyawan said.
Medan Zoo has been warned of inadequate management all the way back to 2012 and has been requested to improve its operation. This was conveyed through an assessment mechanism for a conservation institution at least three years after it operated.
The death of Medan Zoo tigers ultimately sparked widespread concern, including from The Wildlife Whisperer of Sumatra. The series of deaths became increasingly in the spotlight after the Mayor of Medan, who is also the son-in-law of President Joko Widodo or Jokowi, Bobby Nasution, stated, 'Whose fault is it if the tiger dies? Is it forbidden for the tigers to die?'.
IRSYAN HASYIM
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