Elephant rides at Indonesia’s Bali attractions banned over animal welfare concerns

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by SCMP’s Asia deskJanuary 27, 2026 at 10:49 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

Elephant-riding attractions in Bali, Indonesia are being shut down following a directive from the country's forestry authorities. The Ministry of Forestry's Directorate General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation issued a circular ordering conservation centers to end elephant-riding performances and transition to more ethical and educational wildlife tourism. Provincial authorities, like BKSDA Bali, are enforcing the directive through conservation licensing, issuing warnings and potentially revoking permits for non-compliance. The goal is to shift away from elephant rides, which have been permitted under conservation permits, towards more sustainable wildlife tourism practices. The directive was issued last month and is now being actively enforced.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Ratna Hendratmoko 60% BKSDA Bali 80% Bali ×2100% Indonesia ×2100%

Keywords

elephant rides 100% animal welfare 90% wildlife tourism 80% bali 70% conservation 70% ethical tourism 60% indonesia 60% forestry authorities 50% permits 50% conservation centres 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.30

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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elephant rides animal welfare wildlife tourism bali conservation ethical tourism indonesia forestry authorities permits conservation centres

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