need donor for repaire or make a new cage for siamangs/apes

My name is Rudianto Sembiring. I write to seek your urgent help to improve the condition and the animal welfare problems in North Sumatra. This letter is written in English with the help of a supporter as my own English is not adequate.

I am working as an animal keeper (primate & ape division) at Medan Zoo in North Sumatra. I love my job caring the animals. The primates and apes which I look after are Orangutans, gibbons, siamangs and macaques. Although I am not trained, I feel strongly about looking after the animals and would like to improve their condition, which I believe is far from acceptable.

I have no personal means or the resources to help the animals as I am paid equivalent to US Dollars 80 per month. The zoo is run on a minimum resource depriving the animals the welfare they so deserve. Bureaucracy, lack of awareness and poverty is the reasons why these animals suffer. There is no capital investment or political will to improve the situation. The animals cannot wait until the management does something and in the mean time the animals continue to suffer in their cages.

I would like to tap your heart and conscience. Perhaps there is something you can do to help. To help the animals, I also set up a very small stall in front of the zoo, selling some soft drinks and nuts to visitors. Very often I use personal money to buy food for the primates and apes.

I have set up a registered legal charity called North Sumatra Animal Welfare in Medan with the help of sympathetic supporters, with the hope that any donation received will be use to help the animals

The animals badly need nutritious food, enrichment materials, medical treatment and better caging condition. Some of the cages are in bad repair without safety doors. I very much hope that one day the authority would do something to improve the welfare of the wildlife in Medan zoo, until such time we cannot allow the animal suffering to continue. Please give however small. These animals deserve better life.

I can be contacted by email at: nsawtim@yahoo.com or by cell phone at 0062-8153-3260-974. To donate, payment detail can be viewed at the above website.

Yours sincerly,

Rudianto sembiring

chairman NSAW/medan zoo primate keeper