Animal Abuse Laws in Bali 2026: Elephant Riding Banned, 1,300 Wild Animals Exploited, Kopi Luwak Abuse

Table of Contents

1. Indonesia's Elephant Riding Ban 2025–2026
2. Mason Elephant Park: What Changed
3. The 1,300 Animals: World Animal Protection's Findings
4. Kopi Luwak: The Civet Coffee Welfare Problem
5. Dolphin Shows and Captive Dolphins
6. Photo Opportunity Animals: Slow Lorises and Orangutans
7. Indonesia's Animal Welfare Legal Framework
8. How to Identify Exploitative vs Ethical Venues
9. Genuinely Ethical Wildlife Experiences in Bali
10. Reporting Animal Abuse in Bali

Indonesia's Elephant Riding Ban 2025–2026

In a landmark shift in national policy, Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry issued Circular Letter No. 6 of 2025 banning the use of Sumatran elephants for riding activities at all captive venues across Indonesia. The circular, which came into effect in the second half of 2025, was the result of years of advocacy by World Animal Protection, PETA Asia, and Indonesian conservation organisations who documented the physical and psychological harm caused to elephants by tourist riding operations.

Why Riding Was Banned

The scientific and veterinary case against elephant riding is well-established:

• Spinal damage: Elephants' spines are not structurally designed to carry weight on their backs. Repeated riding causes disc compression and spinal deformity that worsens progressively throughout the animal's life.
• Psychological trauma: The training process used to make wild-born elephants compliant for tourist riding — known as phajaan (the crush) — involves confinement in a small crush cage, sleep deprivation, starvation, and beating to break the animal's spirit and create submissive behaviour. This process causes lasting psychological damage documented as PTSD-analogous behaviour.
• Chronic stress: Captive elephants in tourist venues show stereotypic behaviours (repetitive swaying, head-bobbing) that are diagnostic of chronic psychological stress in captive large mammals.
• Injury risk: Elephants have injured and killed handlers and tourists. The risk is inherent to keeping traumatised large animals in forced proximity to strangers.

What the Circular Requires

Circular Letter No. 6 of 2025 requires all venues holding Sumatran elephants to:

• Cease all riding activities immediately
• Submit welfare improvement plans to the Ministry
• Transition to conservation-oriented activities (educational programmes, natural behaviour observation)
• Cease the use of bullhooks (ankus) in public areas

Mason Elephant Park: What Changed

Mason Elephant Park at Taro, Ubud — the highest-profile elephant venue in Bali and one of the most-visited wildlife attractions on the island — announced in January 2026 that it had halted elephant riding in compliance with the Ministry circular. This was a significant development given that riding had been the venue's central tourist offering for many years.

The venue announced it would transition to a "conservation sanctuary" model focused on:

• Natural habitat walks (where tourists observe elephants without riding)
• Educational programmes about Sumatran elephant conservation
• Elephant bathing activities (where tourists interact at water level, not mounted)

The Transition Concern

Animal welfare organisations including PETA and World Animal Protection have noted that the transition from riding to "bathing" and "sanctuary" models at venues that previously used harmful training methods does not immediately resolve the underlying welfare issues. Elephants trained through cruel methods continue to carry that trauma regardless of whether they are being ridden or observed. The welfare quality of the transition depends on whether the venue commits to:

• Retiring or rehoming animals to genuine sanctuaries (not renaming the same venue)
• Ceasing all use of bullhooks and aversive training
• Allowing elephants natural social grouping and foraging behaviour
• Submitting to independent third-party welfare audits

PETA's ongoing coverage of Bali elephant venues and World Animal Protection's wildlife venue assessment programme are the most reliable sources for current welfare status of specific venues.

The 1,300 Animals: World Animal Protection's Findings

World Animal Protection's global wildlife tourism research programme assessed venues across Bali as part of a broader Southeast Asia study. Their findings for Bali specifically documented:

• 26 venues offering some form of wild animal interaction or display
• Over 1,300 individual wild animals held in exploitative conditions across these venues
• Species held included: Sumatran elephants, bottlenose dolphins, orangutans, macaques, slow lorises, civets, sea turtles, cockatoos and parrots, and various reptiles
• The majority of venues surveyed received a failing welfare score — animals were showing stress behaviours, living in inadequate space, and being used for performances, photo opportunities, or other activities that require training through aversive methods

The report was published to coincide with advocacy for the elephant riding ban and contributed to the Ministry's decision to issue Circular Letter No. 6 of 2025.

Kopi Luwak: The Civet Coffee Welfare Problem

Kopi luwak — coffee made from beans that have passed through the digestive system of Asian palm civets — is one of the most expensive coffees in the world and is sold extensively in tourist areas of Bali as an authentic local experience. The welfare reality of how most kopi luwak is produced is one of the most significant hidden animal welfare issues in Bali's tourism industry.

The "Wild" vs Caged Reality

Authentic wild kopi luwak involves free-ranging civets naturally selecting and consuming coffee cherries in forest environments. This produces a genuinely rare product in limited quantities. The kopi luwak sold at scale to tourists — priced at IDR 30,000–100,000 per cup or marketed as "the world's most expensive coffee" — is almost universally produced by caged civets:

• Civets are nocturnal, solitary, forest-dwelling animals with large territorial ranges (several square kilometres per individual). They cannot exhibit natural behaviour in a cage.
• Caged civets are force-fed a near-exclusive diet of coffee cherries — not the varied natural diet of fruit, insects, and small vertebrates that constitutes healthy civet nutrition
• The chronic stress of captivity, monotonous diet, and inability to express natural behaviour produces physiological markers of severe welfare impairment: stereotypic pacing, fur loss, self-mutilation, and immune suppression
• The "wild-sourced" label used by many vendors is essentially unverifiable — there is no independent certification system for wild kopi luwak production

What Tourists Can Do

If you want to try kopi luwak as a Balinese coffee experience:

• Decline to visit "kopi luwak farms" or venues that display live civets in cages alongside their coffee sales
• Understand that kopi luwak purchased from tourist stalls and cafes in tourist areas is almost certainly cage-produced
• Consider Bali's other specialty coffees — Kintamani arabica is an internationally acclaimed coffee grown in Bali's volcanic highlands and involves no animal welfare dimension at all. It is genuinely excellent coffee.

Dolphin Shows and Captive Dolphins

Several venues in Bali have offered captive dolphin experiences — shows, swimming with dolphins, and dolphin photo opportunities. These operations are subject to Indonesia's protected species regulations (dolphins are protected under PP No. 7 Tahun 1999) and welfare regulations, though enforcement has been inconsistent.

The welfare issues with captive dolphin performances are well-documented:

• Dolphins are highly intelligent, wide-ranging animals — wild bottlenose dolphins typically range over hundreds of kilometres of ocean. Pool confinement causes severe psychological stress.
• Captive dolphin pools in tropical tourist venues rarely meet the water quality, depth, or temperature standards for dolphin welfare
• Performing dolphins are trained through food deprivation and other aversive conditioning

For alternative dolphin experiences: wild dolphin watching boat tours operate off the north coast of Bali (Lovina) where spinner dolphins are observed in their natural habitat without captivity. This is a fundamentally different experience with no welfare concerns.

Photo Opportunity Animals: Slow Lorises and Orangutans

Two animal categories warrant specific mention because they are particularly visible in tourist areas:

Slow Lorises

Slow lorises are protected under Indonesian law (Appendix I CITES) — it is illegal to own, sell, or use them commercially. They are sometimes offered to tourists for paid photo opportunities, typically by street vendors or at night markets. Key facts tourists need to know:

• Slow lorises that appear docile have typically had their teeth removed (without anaesthetic) to prevent biting — a procedure that causes severe pain and often leads to infection and death
• They are nocturnal and highly sensitive to bright light — flash photography and daytime handling is physically harmful to the animal
• Paying for a photo opportunity with a slow loris directly funds the illegal wildlife trade
• Report sightings to the BKSDA (Natural Resources Conservation Agency) at (0361) 228665

Orangutans

Orangutans used for tourist interactions (photos, shows, wrestling performances) are obtained through the illegal wildlife trade — they cannot legally be held in non-accredited facilities. All orangutan show venues in Bali are operating illegally and are subject to periodic police and conservation agency raids. Paying any venue that offers orangutan interaction contributes to the demand for illegally captured orangutans.

Indonesia's Animal Welfare Legal Framework

The Indonesian legal framework for animal protection has strengthened significantly in recent years:

• Undang-Undang No. 18 Tahun 2009 (Animal Husbandry and Health Law) — establishes the fundamental legal basis for animal welfare, defining prohibited acts of cruelty
• PP No. 95 Tahun 2012 (Government Regulation on Animal Health and Welfare) — implementing regulation under the above law, specifying the welfare standards for various animal categories including captive wildlife
• UU No. 5 Tahun 1990 (Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems) — protects listed wild species from exploitation; penalties include up to 5 years imprisonment and fines up to IDR 100 million
• PP No. 7 Tahun 1999 (Protected Species List) — lists species protected from trade, possession, and commercial use, including dolphins, slow lorises, orangutans, and various bird species
• Circular Letter No. 6 of 2025 — specifically banning elephant riding, as described above

The penalties under conservation law for using or trading in protected species are substantial. For tourists: participating in an illegal wildlife interaction (paying for a slow loris photo, visiting an illegal orangutan show) may make you a participant in a criminal act under Indonesian law, not merely a witness.

How to Identify Exploitative vs Ethical Venues

The key markers that distinguish genuinely ethical wildlife experiences from exploitative ones:

Factor	Ethical Venue	Exploitative Venue
Animal behaviour	Natural: foraging, moving freely, socialising	Stereotypic: pacing, swaying, tethered, listless
Physical proximity to tourists	Animal approaches at will; can move away	Tethered, chained, enclosed, or manually restrained
Performing tricks	No tricks; natural behaviours observed	Unnatural performances (riding, painting, dancing)
Riding or mounting	Never offered	Core activity or recently "transitioned away from"
Training tools	No bullhooks, no aversive equipment visible	Bullhooks, chains, small cages visible
Third-party certification	Independently audited by recognised welfare body	No credible third-party verification
Conservation credentials	Documented contribution to wild population conservation	No conservation programme; animals purely commercial
Space provided	Appropriate to species' natural ranging needs	Confined to small enclosures or cages

Genuinely Ethical Wildlife Experiences in Bali

Ethical wildlife engagement exists in Bali — it simply requires choosing different activities:

Bali Bird Park (Taman Burung Bali)

Gianyar regency. A well-maintained facility with a focus on conservation of Indonesian bird species. While a captive facility, it has documented conservation programmes and welfare standards above the average for Bali animal venues. Bird species include Birds of Paradise, hornbills, cassowaries, and hundreds of other Indonesian species in naturalistic enclosures.

Wild Dolphin Watching — Lovina

Early morning boat tours to observe wild spinner dolphins in the Lovina marine area off north Bali. Dolphins are free-ranging, observed at their discretion, and the activity requires no captivity. The experience is genuinely wild — dolphins approach the boat on their own terms and may or may not perform acrobatics.

Turtle Conservation Programmes

The Bali Sea Turtle Society operates beach monitoring and hatchery programmes at Kuta Beach and other sites. Visitors can observe hatchling releases (coordinated, natural timing, not forced) and learn about sea turtle conservation. This represents genuine conservation participation rather than commercial exploitation.

Bali Butterfly Park

Tabanan. An insect-focused venue with genuine conservation education. Butterflies are bred in controlled conditions as part of population stabilisation programmes — a welfare-neutral activity for insects.

Natural Monkey Forests

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud is a protected forest that long-tailed macaques inhabit semi-naturally. The monkeys are habituated to human presence but are not captive or trained. Visitor interaction is constrained by the monkeys' own choices. Note: do not feed the monkeys, maintain your distance, and secure loose items — they bite and steal. The monkeys are wild animals.

Reporting Animal Abuse in Bali

• BKSDA Bali (Natural Resources Conservation Agency): (0361) 228665 — primary authority for wildlife protection enforcement in Bali
• World Animal Protection (report form): worldanimalprotection.org — international documentation of venues; reports contribute to their ongoing venue assessment programme
• PETA Asia: peta.org — takes reports on specific venues and coordinates with Indonesian authorities on enforcement
• Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA): +62 361 464 592 — primarily focused on domestic animal welfare but takes reports on wildlife abuse as well

When reporting, provide the venue name, location, species observed, specific welfare concern, and photographs if available. Photographs that document conditions (small cages, tethering, bullhooks, stereotypic behaviour) are particularly useful for enforcement action.

For broader responsible tourism practices in Bali, see our eco-friendly and responsible travel guide for Bali.