For years, animal rights activists and visitors to Bandung Zoo have complained of rampant animal abuse and neglect. Now, recent videos taken at the zoo have proven just how bad things are.

The videos show a group of sunbears looking sickly and skeletal, begging for food on their hind legs. One clip shows a bear eating its own faeces, an act experts say could be a sign of extreme boredom, while others show chained-up elephants, polluted water, and rusted cages.  

Bandung Zoo attracted headlines after an elephant died of apparent medical neglect in May 2016. But Bandung mayor Ridwan Kamil claims he has no power to shut down the private zoo. That’s why we’re coming together to appeal to a higher power -- the Ministry of Environment and Forestry -- to shut down Bandung Zoo and relocate the animals it holds to safe conservatories.

Call on the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to end the abuse and neglect of animals at Bandung Zoo!

Zoo officials continue to deny claims of neglect, but the images don’t lie. Not to mention countless reviews from tourists on the site Tripadvisor that describe the zoo as “hell on earth” and the animals as “dying of neglect.”

Unfortunately, Bandung Zoo is only one of many Indonesian zoos that are notorious for inadequate conditions, even by the government’s own standards. That’s why groups like the Scorpion Wildlife Trade Monitoring Group have staged been protesting to get Bandung Zoo closed: we need the government to set a precedent for closing down zoos that leave their animals to suffer abusive conditions.

We know the power we have when we come together to stand for animal rights. In 2015, after the death of Cecil the lion, our people power pushed United, American, Delta, and other airlines to ban the shipment of African hunting “trophy” animals. Now, we need to channel the same spirit to protect the animals at Bandung Zoo from a lifetime of neglect and suffering.