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| Raja, a 17-year-old African lion, is seen at a zoo amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bandung, West Java Province, Indonesia, May 18, 2020.(Photo by= REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana) |
[아시아뉴스통신=레악카나 기자] An Indonesian zoo may slaughter some of its animals to feed others like the Sumatran tiger and Javan leopard if they run out of food in the coming months after the coronavirus pandemic forced it closed.
Around 850 animals are fed with smaller portions than usual if it runs out of food in July. The Bandung zoo in Indonesia's fourth-biggest city usually earns about 1.2 billion rupiah (US$81,744) a month from visitors.
"We have around thirty dotted deer, and we have identified the old and unproductive ones (who can no longer breed) to be slaughtered to save the carnivores, such as the Sumatran tiger and Javan leopard," said zoo spokesman Sulhan Syafi'i.
Some birds including geese may also be culled, he said. A critically endangered Sumatran tiger named Fitri now gets 8kg of meat every two days, down from 10kg. The zoo needs around 400kg of fruit per day and 120kg of meat every other day, Syafi'i said and relies on donations to keep its animals alive.
The Indonesia Zoo Association, which has requested help from President Joko Widodo, estimates 92 per cent of the country's 60 zoos can only feed their animals until the end of May.
