Bali’s Dark Side Explained With 7 Animals
Have you ever tried kopi luwak? Or witnessed a cockfight? If you’ve been to Bali, chances are you have.
Both of them have to do with typical Balinese practices that involve animals. Both of them are also harmful. The worst part is, all of them have some relation to the tourism sector.
It’s not always easy to see how even animal tourist attractions that call themselves ‘conservatories’ do so much damage. Luckily, there are ways to recognize and avoid animal cruelty on this paradise island.
To brighten things up a bit, you’ll learn the animals’ Indonesian names. The language is easy to learn and might come in handy during your next trip!
1. Leave the Anjing out of Your Sate
Most Balinese anjing (= ‘dogs’) don’t seem to have the same family status as westerners give their dogs. You’ll see a lot of them roaming the streets, some skinny or even mutilated by other dogs or people who wanted to learn the scavengers a lesson.
The most significant difference between most western dogs and Balinese is that the latter are eaten. It’s a widespread practice, even with tourists, who often think they’re eating beef or pork.
About 70.000 dogs are slaughtered on the island every single year, The Bali Animal Welfare Association estimates. The industry is entirely unregulated because killing dogs for food is legal in Indonesia.
According to Animals Australia’s campaign director Lyn White, however, cruelly killing animals or eating meat contaminated with poison, is against Indonesian law. Poisoning is a common way to kill stray dogs, and residue of the toxin can make its way into the human consumer.
Luckily, there’s a lot of effort from local animal welfare groups and expats, to protect stray dogs.
If you’re anxious now about what your sate (= ‘satay’) might contain, follow these simple tips.
- Don’t go for street meat that’s too cheap to be true. If you feel like eating meat, do it in a decently priced restaurant, understanding that meat, especially beef and pork, is expensive in Bali.
- Look for any mention of RW (the abbreviation of ‘fine hair’ in a Sulawesi dialect). It stands for ‘dog meat’. Sometimes even a picture of a dog will warn you.
And if you want to play safe: do all animals a favor and just be a vegetarian during your holiday.
2. Don’t Bet on Ayam Jago
Although ayam (= ‘chickens’) and their anak ayam (= ‘chicks’) are often free to wander around, they likely end up in many meals Suku Bali (= ‘Balinese’) and tourists eat.
Ayam jago (= ‘roosters’), however, have a worse fate.
Balinese men have a thing for tajen (= ‘cockfighting’). And although gambling on the fights has been illegal in Indonesia since 1981, and forbidden in Hinduism, the fighting itself isn’t.
It’s part of the ancient Hindu ritual tabuh rah (= ‘the spreading of the blood’). During the legal version of the fighting, two animals fight until one of them is hurt, which counts as a sacrifice for the gods. In preparation for the match, men massage their rooster and try to create a rivalry between him and another animal by letting them stare at each other.
In the brutal, illegal version, the roosters fight until one of them is dead. Unfortunately, most of the winning roosters end up dead, too, because of their injuries.
The legal ceremonies can help raise money for local temples, though. If you’d really like to watch a fight, ask a local you trust about witnessing a religious cockfight and make sure it’s not a gamble. Or better yet, don’t encourage the practice and just walk on.
3. The Only Gajah You Should See Is the Goa
Gajah (= ‘elephants’) are intelligent and altruistic creatures and are revered by Hindus through the elephant-headed god Ganesha, who’s the patron of intellectuals, authors, and others. But the tourism sector does not seem to reward the animals for their wisdom.
If you look up where to see elephants in Bali, you’ll quickly have the choice between zoos or so-called sanctuaries, which they’re not. There’s not a single wildlife tourism entertainment venue in Bali that doesn’t offer rides. Tourists contribute to the elephant abuse by mounting them all day.
According to a 2018 report from nature organization World Animal Protection, Bali doesn’t have any wild elephant populations. The animals are always transported from elsewhere, often the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and go through a period during which they’re broken in with bullhooks, which goes accompanied by physical and emotional pain.
If you want to see the Sumatran giants in the wild, you should go to Sumatra instead of Bali.
But don’t despair, Bali has one elephant-related tourist attraction that doesn’t harm any! The ancient Goa Gajah (= ‘elephant cave’), is a cave that’s inside the mouth of a demon.
Since it probably dates back to the 11th century when elephants in Bali weren’t a thing, it probably takes its name from the elephant resembling cave entrance or a nearby river that’s known as the Elephant River. The cave seemed forgotten for a time until Dutch archaeologists rediscovered it in 1923.
Inside there’s, of course, a statue of Ganesha.
4. Leave the Luwak out of Your Kopi
If you have no idea what this animal is, you’re not alone.
Luwak are a kind of civet. They’re nocturnal. But that’s not the only reason you don’t see them.
They’re being kept in cages, away from tourists’ view. That’s because their poop makes money.
Luwak are animals who roam through Balinese forests looking for insects, seeds, fruits…, and coffee beans! After humans discovered that the coffee beans exit the luwak’s bodies intact, they started wondering what they might taste like. The result was smoother than regular coffee because the luwak’s digestive enzymes take the acidity out of the beans.
And that’s how kopi luwak (= ‘luwak coffee’) was born. Today, one cup of it can cost $80. Although trying it is an experience, you need to be aware of the animal cruelty that goes behind it.
The industry is entirely unregulated. Luwak are kept in small cages and forced to only eat coffee beans, which don’t contain the nutrition they would get out of their natural free-roaming diet. The animals have health problems like infections, are kept awake at a time they usually sleep, and are so stressed that they lose their fur.
And If you’re thinking of buying free-roaming luwak coffee, which some of them are labeled as, forget it. A BBC undercover investigation revealed that there’s no checking whether the label is legit. Nearly all products claiming to be ‘free-roaming’ come from luwak in cages.
The best thing to do is just skip the coffee farms and enjoy a regular cappuccino in one of Bali’s many hip coffee bars.
5. Don’t Cuddle the Beruang Madu
Not all suffering animals in Bali are always kept in their cages. Some of them have to perform for humans. Or worse, cuddle them!
Beruang madu (= literally ‘honey bears’), or sun bears are the smallest members of the bear family and are native to the forests of Indonesia. They are reclusive, nocturnal animals who take their name from the white patch on their chest that resembles a rising sun.
They’re being kept in multiple Balinese ‘conservatories’ where they’re harshly trained to let people pet, carry, cuddle, or just harass them.
Wildlife organization Animals Asia has saved 600 bears in the past 20 years. The organization states that “In every single case, the bears have been found in terrible living conditions, often starved, dehydrated, injured or diseased.”
Because of the acute stress of the forced interacting with humans, the bears develop coping mechanisms like constantly sucking their paws.
The way the sun bears end up in captivity isn’t because they’re ‘being saved from poachers’. Mother bears are killed so the conservatories can raise their cubs as pets.
And the cubs don’t always end up in cuddle parks. Owning them is a trend with Indonesian and Malaysian celebrities.
To make matters even worse, just like other bears in Asia, sun bears’ gall bladders are harvested to make medicines, even if scientists have proven that the body parts are of no medical value at all.
All of this trade in sun bear cubs and body parts just happens online. In a horrifying report, anti-wildlife trade organization Traffic explains how Sun bears are far from safe in Indonesia.
So when in Bali, hug your teddy bear and stay away from the actual ones!
6. Watch Lumba-Lumba From Afar
Not all abused mammals live on land. Lumba-lumba (= ‘dolphins’) are being kept in aquaria all over Bali, and when they’re not performing shows, you can swim with them. Don’t, though.
Their living conditions are not only deplorable, but dolphins are intelligent creatures who suffer deeply from being locked up and continuously doing the same tricks.
But skipping the aquaria doesn’t mean that you can’t see them!
Especially Lovina, in northern Bali, is known for its dolphin watching tours. Going on a sunrise or sunset tour is exciting because you never know when the animals are going to show up. When they do, it’s more magical than seeing the poor creatures in a small aquarium.
Bali knows how to keep harassing animals, though. Some boats come too close to the dolphins and even allow feeding them! If this happens, tell your tour guide it’s not okay, and be sure to repeat it on Tripadvisor.
Another way to see dolphins is to snorkel. Once again, make sure to keep your distance from sea life and don’t touch anything.
Coral is very vulnerable, and plenty of ignorant tourists will touch it or break it off with their fins. Always lay flat on your belly when you’re swimming above a reef.
7. Don’t Trust Penyu Conservatories
Indonesia’s waters are home to five kinds of penyu (= ‘sea turtle’), of which the green one, the leatherback, and the hawksbill are probably best known.
There aren’t many turtles that still lay eggs on Balinese beaches. Light pollution and tourist infested coasts are the main reasons.
Even well-meant, people can do turtles harm. For example, by pointing a flashlight at them. If you were to disturb a nesting mother like that, she would probably never return to that beach.
And as with the dolphins, if you see a turtle while snorkeling or diving, keep your distance from the animal and make sure your guide understands that you want to respect its space.
But the most important thing you can is avoiding so-called turtle rehabilitation centers, especially the most popular one in Serangan.
The centers might be sponsored by nature organization WWF, the practices are not what they should be. Fragile baby turtles are endlessly being picked up by unsupervised tourists (which can cause their death), and visitors throw any food they can find in the aquaria.
That stands in contrast with the fact that the required food often doesn’t seem well distributed. Babies are known to attack each other.
In this photo, you’ll see what’s left of a baby turtle from one of the many tanks in the Serangan center.
Although some of the centers do valuable work by breeding and releasing the turtles, all the direct contact from tourists is unnecessary, stressful, and even lethal for the animals. If you’d like to sponsor a center, urge them to keep tourists at a safe distance from the animals.
Treat Them Well
Bali has a dark side, and its animals are probably the best representatives. The most significant part of the harm that’s done is to please tourists.
But you can easily help. Use your head, do your research, and have some empathy.
Does that elephant really want to be ridden by you? Is that bear honestly begging you for a hug? Don’t flatter yourself.
If you’re still uncertain about what conservation parks are actually worth visiting, check out this list animal organization Peta made. It helps you determine what places treat animals well and which ones you should skip.
If you’re now wondering how bad other Balinese animals have it, rest assured, some of them are living the dream, just like the tourists visiting their island. Get to know them in this post!
Did you witness any animal cruelty while you were in Bali? Tell me your story, and I might include it in one of my next posts!
And if you’d like to learn more about Bali or practice your Bahasa Indonesia (= ‘Indonesian’), check out these posts.
- 7 Animals That Sum up Bali
- Balinese Hinduism Explained
- What the Indonesian Language Can Tell You About Bali
- What These Foods Can Tell You About Bali
- How the Dutch Language Influenced Bali
- What Your Body Can Teach You About Bali
Source
Whitten, A.J. and Soeriaatmadja, R.E., Ecology of Bali & Java. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2013.
