By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-20 06:11:39 | Updated at 2025-03-20 15:46:26
9 hours ago
Jakarta has a stray cat problem, but its governor has an innovative idea how to solve it: create a “cat island” in the Thousand Islands regency, an area just north of its coast, to house the free-roaming felines, and boost tourism.
“The idea about the cat island is not new. Japan has already established ones, and they have become extraordinary tourist destinations,” Governor Pramono Anung said last Thursday, according to The Jakarta Post.
“If we can make it happen, the island can be a source of revenue for the Thousand Islands administration,” he added, as quoted by tempo.co.
The island would attract both international and local tourists, he said. “People will come and visit the cats.”
Ultimately, the island would function as a rehabilitation centre and house a cat hospital.
Pramono himself has actively contributed to helping strays in his city.
