Overview: Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country and a megadiverse nation with extraordinary wildlife — including critically endangered orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and Javan rhinos. It also has a large and rapidly growing livestock sector. Animal welfare legislation is limited, but wildlife conservation has global significance and a growing domestic civil society is pushing for reform.
Legal Framework
Indonesia's animal welfare legal framework is incomplete but developing:
Law No. 18 of 2009 on Animal Husbandry and Health (amended 2014): Includes provisions on animal welfare in husbandry contexts; defines animal welfare principles but enforcement is weak
Law No. 5 of 1990 on Conservation of Biological Resources: Protects endangered species; prohibits trade in protected animals
Government Regulation No. 95 of 2012: More detailed welfare provisions for livestock; includes transport and slaughter standards
No standalone animal cruelty law; no prohibition on general animal cruelty toward non-protected species
Farm Animal Welfare
Scale
~3.5 billion poultry (one of world's largest flocks)
~17 million cattle
~8 million pigs (concentrated in non-Muslim regions: Bali, North Sumatra, NTT)
Rapidly industrializing; traditional smallholder sector still significant
Conditions
Industrial poultry production in Indonesia mirrors regional norms — battery cages for laying hens remain standard, broilers raised at high densities. The rapid pace of industrialization has outpaced welfare regulation development. A small but growing certified humane sector exists, primarily serving export markets and premium domestic consumers.
Live animal transport is a major welfare issue — Indonesia is a significant exporter of live cattle to Singapore and Malaysia, and cattle shipped from Australia to Indonesian feedlots have been the subject of major welfare controversies (leading Australia to temporarily suspend live exports in 2011 following footage of inhumane slaughter practices).
Live Export Concerns:
Australian live cattle exports to Indonesia — approximately 400,000-700,000 head per year — involve welfare risks at multiple stages: shipping stress, unfamiliar environments in Indonesian feedlots, and slaughter conditions. Following the 2011 controversy, Australia invested in improving Indonesian abattoir standards through the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS). Ongoing welfare monitoring continues.
Wildlife and Biodiversity
Indonesia's Extraordinary Biodiversity
Indonesia contains ~17% of all bird species, ~12% of mammals, and ~10% of plants globally. Key species of welfare and conservation concern:
Sumatran orangutan: Critically endangered; habitat loss from palm oil expansion is primary threat
Bornean orangutan: Endangered; similar drivers
Sumatran tiger: Critically endangered; ~400 remaining in wild
Javan rhino: Critically endangered; ~76 individuals remaining in Ujung Kulon
Indonesia lost approximately 9.6 million hectares of primary forest between 2002 and 2020 — one of the highest global rates. Palm oil expansion, logging, and agricultural conversion drive this loss. The welfare dimension is enormous: millions of wild animals killed, injured, or displaced annually. Orangutans are particularly affected — often killed when found on plantations.
Wildlife Trafficking
Indonesia is a major source country for wildlife trafficking:
Songbird trade is immense — tens of millions of wild birds captured for the singing bird tradition (lomba burung)
Slow lorises, sold as pets via social media, suffer severe welfare harms (teeth clipping, stress)
Reptile trade (pythons, monitor lizards, chameleons) for international pet markets
Increasing enforcement but corruption remains a challenge
Dog and Cat Meat
Minahasan Dog Meat Tradition:
In North Sulawesi (Minahasa region), dog meat (RW) is a traditional food. Indonesia also has informal dog meat markets serving non-Muslim ethnic communities in other regions. Key welfare concerns:
Dogs are often transported long distances in extremely cramped conditions
Slaughter methods in informal markets cause prolonged suffering
Stolen pets are a common source
Campaigns by Four Paws and Dog Meat Free Indonesia have achieved local wins (banning markets in some cities)
Companion Animals
Companion animal keeping is growing rapidly in urban Indonesia. Jakarta and other major cities have developing veterinary sectors and growing animal rescue communities. Challenges include:
Large stray dog and cat populations managed primarily through lethal control
Rabies remains endemic in much of Indonesia (only Bali has a sustained mass vaccination program)
Growing urban middle class increasingly treating pets as family members
Tensions between traditional attitudes toward dogs (common taboo in Muslim culture) and pet-keeping norms
Key Organizations
Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN): Companion animal welfare, wildlife rehabilitation, anti-trafficking
Centre for Orangutan Protection: Field rescue, advocacy, habitat conservation
Yayasan IAR Indonesia: Slow loris and wildlife rescue
Dog Meat Free Indonesia: Coalition campaigning against dog/cat meat trade
Four Paws Indonesia: Animal welfare campaigns; dog meat trade focus
WWF Indonesia, WCS, Wildlife Alliance: Wildlife conservation and anti-trafficking
Outlook
Indonesia faces enormous animal welfare challenges across farming, companion animals, and wildlife. Progress is most visible in wildlife enforcement (improved anti-poaching) and the growth of urban animal welfare civil society. Farm animal welfare reform requires the political will to regulate a rapidly industrializing sector, while addressing wildlife trafficking requires sustained anti-corruption effort. The trajectory is uncertain but the reform constituency is growing.