Gajah Tunggang Attraction Officially Banned, Violators Will Be Denied Permits

Archive - Head of the Bali BKSDA Ratna Hendratmoko (center) while supervising the cessation of the activity of the elephant in the Mason Elephant Park conservation agency, Gianyar Regency, Bali/ANTARA/HO-BKSDA Bali

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) ensures that the ban on elephant riding attractions applies nationwide and there is a potential for sanctions for conservation agencies that are proven to violate the provisions.

"On December 18, 2025, the Director General of KSDAE on behalf of the Minister of Forestry issued Circular Letter No. SE. 6 of 2025 regarding the Termination of Elephant Riding in Conservation Institutions," said the Director of Species and Genetic Conservation, Directorate General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation (Ditjen KSDAE) Kemenhut Ahmad Munawir reported by ANTARA, Friday, February 6.

"This SE has been in effect since it was signed, and is valid nationwide," continued Ahmad Munawir.

He said that the provision was valid and would be routinely supervised by the Ministry of Energy through the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) which was spread across various regions of Indonesia against the owners of conservation agency permits known to care for elephants.

Not only that, if it is proven to have violated the law, it will impose sanctions. With the threat of revocation of the license if the conservation agency does not stop the practice of riding elephants.

"If there are owners of LK (conservation institutions) who violate it, then according to the provisions of the sanctions given, the Director General of KSDAE will issue a Letter of Warning I (SP I), if they still violate it, a SP II will be issued and if they still violate it, a SP III (revocation of LK permit) will be issued," he said.

Previously, a number of cases received public attention regarding the practice of elephant riding attractions carried out by a number of conservation institutions including several zoos.

In the circular, the Ministry of Finance stated that the practice of riding elephants, both for commercial and non-commercial purposes, is no longer in line with the principles of animal protection, ethics, and welfare.

Moreover, elephants (Elephas maximus) are protected animals that are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List so that any form of utilization must be carried out very carefully and responsibly.

The cessation of elephant riding shows does not mean eliminating the educational function of conservation institutions. Instead, the policy encourages management transformation towards a more civilized and conservation-oriented approach, such as elephant natural behavior education, conservation interpretation, and wildlife observation without direct physical contact.

The approach is expected to be able to build public awareness of conservation not about entertainment, but about respect for life.