PANDUANHEWAN · INDONESIA
Animal causes in Indonesia: the issues, the law and how to help
Dancing monkeys, the slow loris and songbird trades, orangutan rehabilitation, turtle eggs, dog meat, street cats, elephants and travelling dolphin shows: sourced facts, the law and how to help safely.
Cause pages explain the animal-welfare and conservation issues in Indonesia that people talk about and fundraise for most: what is happening, what the law says, what is being done and how you can help safely. Every fact has a source.
Dog meat trade in Indonesia: rabies, laws and regional bans
Indonesia has no national law that explicitly bans eating or selling dog and cat meat, but since 2018 the Ministry of Agriculture has stated that dog meat falls outside the legal definition of food.
Swim with dolphins in Bali? Captive dolphins, law and ethics
Travelling dolphin shows have ended in Indonesia: permits for displays outside licensed conservation institutions were not renewed, and the last expired on 5 February 2020.
Why are Sumatran elephants endangered? Threats, law and ride ban
Sumatran elephants are Critically Endangered because their forest habitat keeps shrinking and breaking apart, and because of conflict with people, poaching for ivory, poison and snares.
Indonesia forest fires: causes, wildlife impact and how to help
Most forest and land fires (karhutla) in Kalimantan and Sumatra are started by people, often to clear land, and spread through peat dried out by long El Niño dry seasons.
Helmeted hornbill: the red ivory trade, law and how to help
The helmeted hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil) is protected in Indonesia: it is entry 248 in the annex to Regulation P.106/2018, is listed in CITES Appendix I and has been Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2015.
Is kopi luwak ethical? Caged civets, the law and wildlife tourism
Kopi luwak is made from coffee beans that Asian palm civets have eaten and excreted.
Dancing monkeys in Indonesia: macaque welfare, law and trade
Topeng monyet is a street show using long-tailed macaques that are chained and trained to stand like people; Jakarta banned it in 2013 and several Javan provinces followed on animal-welfare and disease grounds.
Orangutan rescue in Indonesia: threats, rehabilitation, release
All three Indonesian orangutan species (Sumatran, Bornean and Tapanuli) are Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List because their forests are being cleared or burnt and because orangutans are killed, hunted or captured for the pet trade.
Pangolin Trafficking in Indonesia: Scales, Law and How to Help
Yes.
How many Javan rhinos are left? Poaching, law and Sumatran rhinos
Between about 50 and 100 Javan rhinos are left, all in Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia: a 2025 report to CITES gives a minimum of about 50, while Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry estimated 87–100 in September 2025.
Sea turtle conservation Indonesia: law, eggs and hatchlings
Yes: all six sea turtle species in Indonesia are listed under Regulation P.106/2018 and Fisheries Decree 66/2025, so catching, keeping, storing or trading turtles, their eggs, meat or shell can bring up to 15 years in prison.
Shark finning in Indonesia: fin trade, protected sharks and rays
Indonesia has fully protected the whale shark since 2013 (Decree 18/2013) and manta rays since 2014 (Decree 4/2014), including fins, gill plates and other body parts; since 5 March 2026 both have also been on CITES Appendix I, which bans their commercial international trade.
Slow Loris Pet Trade: Why Slow Lorises Should Never Be Pets
Keeping a slow loris is illegal in Indonesia.
Asian songbird crisis: Indonesia's bird trade and the law
The Asian songbird crisis is the decline of wild songbirds driven by trapping for the cage-bird trade, and Indonesia is its centre.
Stray dogs in Bali, street cats in Indonesia: rabies and TNR
Street cats and stray dogs in Indonesia come from owned animals allowed to roam, lost or dumped pets, and their unneutered offspring.
Sun bear endangered status in Indonesia: pets, poaching, law
The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is not officially Endangered: the IUCN Red List classes it as Vulnerable, with an estimated 35% decline over 30 years, and in Indonesia it is protected as entry 130 in the annex to Regulation P.106/2018.
Why are Sumatran tigers endangered? Poaching, snares and numbers
Sumatran tigers are endangered because they are poached for their skins, bones, canine teeth and claws, injured or killed in snares set for wild pigs, losing their forests to land conversion and caught up in conflict with people.
Gili islands horses, Bromo rides and Java's carriage horses
Delman, andong and cidomo horses still pull passengers and goods in Java, Lombok and the Gili islands, and horses at Bromo carry tourists towards the crater.
Does your organisation work on one of these causes?
Officially registered organisations can contact us to be listed free of charge on the relevant cause page, after checks. A listing is not an endorsement.