A Confronting Look Inside Indonesia’s Horrific ‘Zoo Of Death’

When I first heard about this zoo it made me incredible angry and saddened to know that a place like this even exists. The photos offer a shocking account of the sadistic people that live in this world who would let any animal live in such horrific conditions.

Surabaya Zoo (aka Kebun Binatang Surabaya) in East Java, Indonesia is one of the largest zoos in South East Asia, housing 3,450 animals (some of which are rare species) across 37 acres of land. Entry is less than $2 per person which wouldn’t come close to the amount of cash flow needed to cover the costs to feed these animals or supply adequate veterinary care.

Around 25 animals a month die here prematurely from starvation and other illnesses and this statistic is no surprise when you see the appalling living conditions and neglect these animals are forced to endure, as detailed below:

Kiwon, Giraffe: Died with a 40lb ball of plastic in its stomach after plastic bags blew into its enclosure and were not cleared. The zoo authorities made an exhibit of its skeleton.

Michael, Lion: An 18-Month-Old African Lion died of strangulation in January; his neck was caught in a loose cable that opened and closed the door of his cage.

Sumutran Tiger: From eating formaldehyde-laced meat his digestive tract rotted away, causing him to die.

Chandrika, Elderly White Tiger: Couldn’t eat due to an injury to her tongue. The zoo veterinarian, Liang Kaspe, refused to operate as she claimed the tiger would die on the operating table due to old age. This inability to eat led to a gaunt and malnourished tiger whose weakened immune system caused her to die of pneumonia.

Other deaths include that of Komodo dragons, white tigers, endangered orangutans, wilderbeasts and crocodiles.

â˜› More Animal Deaths: 5 Mass Animal Deaths From March 2014

The rising death toll at this zoo should be enough to indicate that the management and staff of this place should be fired or better yet, thrown in jail for extreme animal abuse. Asia really needs laws in place to prevent abuse like this from happening in their zoos.

The most harrowing detail of this “Zoo Of Death” is that the employees use the body parts of the deceased animals to sell on the $5 billion per year illegal wildlife trade. Some believe this zoo is only in operation for this reason alone; to line the greedy pockets of the staff.

Controversy of the zoo in 2010 prompted the National Government to appoint a Mr. Sumampau to supervise the operations of the zoo. He has claimed the employees do not work hard, if at all. During two visits on a Sunday almost no members of staff can be seen inside the zoo, despite the place being filled with visitors. He also noted that 180 pelicans were crammed into a cage no bigger than a volleyball court. He transferred some of these birds to his own safari park to assist with overcrowding. Though it should be an obvious decision to close this hell-hole down, Mr. Sumampau thinks it should remain open: “If it closes, they’ll really build a mall.” Clearly this guy wasn’t the best person to send to aid this problem if he’s more concerned with a mall being built than closing a zoo that supports the suffering of animals.

Other than zoos in war zones, it is “probably the worst case of a zoo and dying animals anywhere in the world in recent years,” said Sybelle Foxcroft, the director of Conservation and Environmental Education 4 Life, which is an Australian non-profit group now advising Surabaya Zoo.

A petition on change.org has collected over 240,000 supporters, sign the petition by going here to help raise awareness and ideally have this torture zoo closed down for good and the surviving animals given immediate proper care.