Fighting for Animal Welfare

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Karin Franken

Karin Franken believes that the welfare of animals directly impacts human health and the environment. Her belief has motivated Karen to fight for animal welfare for the past two decades.

“When we keep pets, livestock or working animals, we cannot be haphazard in their care,” Karin Franken, a cofounder of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) that specializes in animal welfare, said on Thursday (4/2/2021) in Jakarta.

Karin is currently focusing on a program that aims to improve the welfare of working horses in South Jakarta. JAAN is working together with the South Jakarta Food Security, Marine and Fisheries Agency. They are providing a training and mentorship program on how to maintain clean and tidy stables, providing healthy foods and managing waste to horse owners and delman (horse buggy) drivers in South Jakarta.

When we keep pets, livestock or working animals, we cannot be haphazard in their care.

The program aims to improve the health and welfare of both the horses and their owners, as well as the local ecosystem. JAAN believes that human beings, animals and the environment are an inseparable unit. Hence, the relationship between the three must be mutually beneficial.

Born and raised in the Netherlands, Karin grew up in a family of animal lovers. Living on the outskirts of the Hague, Karin’s family kept numerous pets, such as dogs, cats and horses. Her family were used to feeding their pets and cleaning their cages. The Netherlands has strict rules regarding the standards for the care and management of pets and their living environment.

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In the early 1990s, Karin’s parents moved to Indonesia. Karin often visited her parents in Jakarta, and she would often travel around the archipelago. It was then that she observed the condition of household pets as well as stray animals living on the streets as. She often fed stray dogs and cats that lived near her parents’ house or the hotel where she stayed.

She then started to catch stray cats in her vicinity and took them to veterinarians to be neutered. Her goal was to control the feral cat population and prevent them from fighting. She paid for everything out of her own pocket.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Karin Franken

Her frequent interactions with animals increased Karin’s skills in observing the relationship between humans and animals. She discovered that animal care in Indonesia differed from the Western concept. Although many Indonesians loved and cared for their pets, there were also many who did not care about animal welfare.

“Turns out that in Indonesia, liking animals does not necessarily mean loving them. I’ve met many wealthy people who collect exotic animals and dogs and cats of expensive breeds, yet the welfare of these animals is not maintained. They are kept in cages until they become stressed. There were even animals that were subjected to their owners’ anger and beaten,” recalled Karin.

She also discovered that a similar condition existed among people who depended on their animals for their livelihood, such as delman drivers and topeng monyet buskers, who dressed monkeys in costumes and played music as a form of street entertainment. They often did not look after their horses and monkeys, many of which were underfed and abused.

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According to Karin, animal owners like these had not yet understood that if their animals were healthy and happy, their own happiness would also grow. For one, ensuring the welfare of their animals would reduce maintenance cost. Maintaining the welfare of working animals could also increase their endurance so they could work for a longer period of time.

To make concrete changes in animal welfare, Karin volunteered with several animal rescue organizations, including Pondok Pengayom Satwa in Ragunan, South Jakarta. She even became the head of the organization. Back then, Pondok Pengayom Satwa’s main objective was to find suitable homes for the rescued animals. Gradually, Karin started to comprehend that finding new homes for strays did not guarantee the animals’ welfare.

She then decided to leave the organization and in 2008, she established JAAN with compatriot Femke Den Haas. They divided their roles: Karin would be responsible for domestic pets, while Femke would be responsible for strays. While JAAN may be based in Jakarta, the organization is active across the country.

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JAAN started by providing counseling sessions for people who owned animals, whether pets or working animals. These sessions were held in various locations, including West Java, Bali and West Nusa Tenggara. These counseling sessions helped spur the emergence of animal lover communities, including such communities in Karimunjawa and Lombok. These groups became JAAN’s partner in rescuing animals.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Karin Franken

JAAN’s initial mission was to campaign against the consumption of dog meat. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the dog meat trade is closely intertwined with the spread of rabies. Dogs do not appear in the Agriculture Ministry’s guidelines on food animals as animals for human consumption.

“We encouraged the local communities to hold dialogues during our campaign against dog meat. The key is to look together at local food traditions and seek the best solution to adjust the tradition to the current circumstances,” said Karen.

After campaigning against the consumption of dog meat, JAAN inititated a campaign against topeng monyet. While the public may find the buskers entertaining, the street shows conceal a great risk. Humans can transmit a number of diseases to monkeys, such as tuberculosis, and vice versa.

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Furthermore, the monkeys’ owners are often abusive. A study by JAAN revealed that the monkeys were beaten and starved if they disobeyed their owners. Hence, the organization approached then-Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo to support the ban against topeng monyet.

The Jakarta administration and JAAN offered compensation of Rp 1 million to topeng monyet buskers for each monkey they surrendered. As many as 120 monkeys were rescued and rehomed at Ragunan Zoo for rehabilitation. When their health had been restored, the monkeys were released back into the wild.

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Karin says that more people care about animal welfare today, as was evident in the increasing number of volunteers and donations that JAAN received. She is optimistic that the public will become more aware that animal welfare is not solely the concern of wealthy people, but rather a concern for us all to protect the environment.

Karin Franken

Born: 13 Aug. 1972, the Hague, Netherlands

Husband: Elmo Hillywan

Child: Anando Hillywan

Education: Bachelor in Marketing and Communication from Erasmus University, the Netherlands

Occupation:

· Cofounder, Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN)

· Owner, Animal Clinic Jakarta

This article was translated by Astria Z. Nabila.