Following reports of starving sun bears at Indonesia's Bandung Zoo, Animals Asia has been overwhelmed with requests for updates – here's how we are helping, and you can too.

Dave Neale, Animals Asia's Director of Captive Animal Welfare programme writes:

"News reports of near-skeletal sun bears begging desperately for food at an Indonesia's Bandung Zoo have shocked the world. The conditions at Bandung are appalling and well-known to Animals Asia's Captive Animal Welfare team. For years we have been lobbying both the zoo and the Indonesian authorities to address this situation as a matter of urgency.

"We have heard today that the Minister of Environment and the Mayor of Bandung have reacted publicly to the reports regarding the bears' care and we are looking for confirmation that urgent improvements can be made. When we know more we will continue to keep supporters up to date with the unfolding situation.

"Since 2013, we have consistently pressured the Indonesian government to appeal for the national and local government to work with captive animal management experts to address the appalling suffering currently taking place at Bandung and many other zoos across the country.

"In 2016, in partnership with Change for Animals Foundation, we started to work with the Indonesian-based NGO, Scorpion Foundation, to help highlight thease issues publicly and to put further pressure on the authorities to act."

That pressure has had some results, but clearly much more must be done. In August 2016, the authorities commissioned captive wild animal experts Wild Welfare to carry out an enrichment and veterinary workshop at Bandung Zoo. Further details can be found here. The series of videos posted online show the bears to appear most malnourished in May of 2016 (above), while in the footage from January 10 2017 (below), the visible bears do appear markedly less emaciated.

"Wild Welfare continues to liaise with the Indonesian zoo association directly on welfare improvement schemes and training programmes, including the possibility of delivering further training at Bandung Zoo. We are hopeful that these training workshops will result in actions on the ground to alleviate some of the issues the bears and other animals at Bandung Zoo currently face.

"We will continue to put pressure on the national authorities to alleviate the suffering of these bears and to develop and implement national zoo legislation which incorporates animal welfare concepts with subsequent inspection and licensing of all captive animal facilities.

"For example, regular inspections and audits would allow management problems to be identified at an early stage before they have a serious negative impact on the health and welfare of animals, and facilitate the implementation of national regulations incorporating animal welfare concepts to address such issues."

What you can do

Animals Asia never underestimates the power of the written word, and while a single letter or email may not seem like much, the collective expression of many people's opinions can help bring about real change.

We urge you to do all that you can to encourage the Indonesian government to further legislate against zoos being able to keep animals in such appalling conditions. Write a polite letter to the Indonesian Ambassador and send it to the main embassy address in your country. Embassy addresses can be found here.

You can also help by signing up to the Asia for Animals action team and join us in speaking out for animals. We need your help to improve the lives of animals across Asia. Writing a letter on a specific welfare issue is a valuable way to support our campaigns.

Sign up now to receive email alerts on the latest action in which we need your help. For more details, click here.

Find out about our End Bear Farming, Cat & Dog Welfare, and Captive Animal Welfare Programmes Animals Asia is a member of the Asia for Animals coalition. A coalition of 16 international NGO's campaigning on animal protection issues across Asia.

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