Femke den Haas

Femke den Haas is Dolphin Project’s Indonesia Campaign Director and is a key member of the team at the Umah Lumba Center. Femke is of Dutch origin and has been in Indonesia since 2002. She began working with Dolphin Project in 2009, after contacting us about Indonesia’s traveling dolphin circuses. (Thankfully, these circuses were banned in 2020.) Before moving to Indonesia, she volunteered at animal and wildlife rescues in the Netherlands, Greece, Venezuela, and Guinea.

In Indonesia, Femke co-founded the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, a non-governmental, non-profit organization established in January 2008 to help protect Indonesian wildlife and to improve the welfare of Jakarta’s domestic animals. JAAN serves as an information center and a central meeting point for volunteers interested in animal welfare issues, enlisting the help of individuals and Indonesian authorities to rescue animals from exploitation and to decrease the trade in endangered wildlife.

Femke helped to set up Indonesia’s first centers for confiscated wildlife, resulting in six locations spread throughout Indonesia. Femke also established and co-founded the Sumatra Wildlife Center and Ellispark Sumatra Wildlife Sanctuary. She started a campaign to end the abuse of dancing monkeys, rescuing nearly 400 monkeys, and after rehabilitation, releasing 260 of the mammals back into the wild. She also started the first canine wildlife detection unit in Asia which helps identify animals being smuggled and trafficked. Femke’s work has saved the lives of countless animals, including various monkey species, elephants, dolphins, alligators, and tigers. Her work doesn’t end with wildlife, though. She has also established clinics to sterilize the street dogs and cats in Indonesia to help bring an end to their suffering.

Femke has an unparalleled passion and dedication to the animals and community around Bali. Femke’s son, Rio, has grown up alongside a variety of rescued animals and helps his mom as she works to make a positive difference for our planet. Her continued dedication to the dolphins, as well as the other animals that call Indonesia home is just one of the many reasons we could not do this important work without her.