Background to animal welfare situation in Indonesia
Indonesia has ranked E for animal
protection index, the country score has worsened since 2014 (API, 2020), even
though Indonesian animal welfare law has many positive aspects. Law 18 of 2009
on Husbandry and Animal Health is the main piece of animal welfare
legislation. Many features of Law 18 of 2009 are supported by regulations
or work alongside other legislative acts governing different industries and
animal species, such as Regulation 95 of 2012 Concerning Public Health and
Animal Welfare, and Act 5 of 1990 on the Conservation of Biological Resources
and their Ecosystems. Many sections of Indonesian animal welfare legislation
are aligned to the Five Freedoms, or other recognized international standards,
such as the OIE’s animal welfare standards. This is particularly prevalent in
legislation regarding livestock. Similarly, Indonesia’s dedicated Wildlife
Crime Unit and biannual animal welfare meetings are to be commended.
The Indonesian Government has
made limited efforts to improve animal welfare since the API was first
published in 2014, law 18 of 2009 does not include any enforcement mechanisms
and, due to delegated authority to regional or provincial governments, reports
suggest enforcement of breaches to any animal welfare law is sporadic. Other
areas of concern include the prevalence of dog fighting in the country, the dog
and cat meat industry, and the private keeping of wild animals as pets, such as:
birds, macaques, orangutans etc. Finally, much of Indonesian animal welfare
legislation is motivated by concerns regarding the livestock industry and
public health, rather than the suffering of animals more generally, as stated
on the Universal Declaration of Animal Welfare (UDAW).
