Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia’s Bali Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA Bali) has warned that it will revoke licences of conservation centres that fail to comply with regulations suspending elephant-riding programmes, as part of efforts to safeguard animal welfare.
Head of BKSDA Bali Ratna Hendratmoko said the province currently has 13 conservation centres, five of which are managing a total of 83 Sumatran elephants. He stressed that all centres have been instructed to strictly implement the directive and ensure animal welfare standards, noting that supervision will be intensified and violations may result in licence withdrawal.
The warning follows a regulation issued by the Directorate General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation under the Ministry of Forestry, which officially ends elephant-riding activities at conservation centres nationwide from late December 2025.
According to Hendratmoko, the regulation reflects the Indonesian Government’s commitment to promoting ethical and sustainable wildlife management. Conservation centres are encouraged to replace elephant-riding programmes with educational activities that raise public awareness of conservation and animal welfare.
He also emphasised that elephant riding runs counter to animal protection principles, particularly as the Sumatran elephant is a protected species listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the population of Sumatran elephants in the wild is estimated at only 2,400–2,800 individuals. The organisation warned that poaching and illegal ivory trade continue to pose serious threats to the species’ survival, not only in Indonesia but worldwide./.
