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SCMP Reporter

THE zoo at Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park will close down after 42 years in the business, it will be announced today.

  Animal rights groups, which once dubbed the zoo ''one of the worst in the world'', yesterday expressed concern over the future of the animals, which may have to be transferred abroad.

  The RSPCA believed animals at the zoo were ill-treated and pressed owners Far East Hotels and Entertainment to either make improvements or close it.

  Last August, the RSPCA formed a committee with the Agriculture and Fisheries Department to monitor conditions at the zoo.

  A spokeswoman for the amusement park yesterday declined to comment on the zoo's condition, but said no complaint had been received from the Government.

  Zoo-keeper Mr Lee Shing-foo, 72, who has been taking care of the animals since 1979, said the company had indicated a year or two ago that it wanted to close the park because of declining popularity.

  Company figures showed that annual attendance dropped from three million in the early 1980s to the present 1.2 million.

  ''The company told me that it had no plan to buy new animals to replace the dead,'' Mr Lee said.

  ''It is understandable. The zoo is no longer attractive now.''   A company spokeswoman, however, argued that it was willing to buy new animals, but that had become increasingly difficult.

  ''We want to buy rare animals to attract visitors,'' she said.

  ''But rare animals are not easy to buy and there are a lot of government procedures to pass.''   Two giraffes - a species never before seen in Hongkong - were imported from South Africa last summer in a bid to boost attendance.

  But Mr Lee said the number of visitors dropped quickly after a small rise.

  ''On weekdays we gross 30 to 40 visitors each day,'' he said.

  At present, there are 30 animals in the zoo, including two tigers, three lions, a camel, several seagulls and goats.

  They are under the care of four workers brought from the mainland last October - including a wildlife expert from Qingdao Zoo.

 Mr Lee said: ''The closure may be good news to me. I can at last get my pension and migrate to the United States to join my family.''   An Agriculture and Fisheries Department spokesman said it had not been informed of the closure, but would contact the company for information on the removal of the animals.

  The department was satisfied with improvements at the zoo and last month approved licence renewal for a year. The zoo moved to its present location in 1980 when its original site - now the Lai King Hill Road - was redeveloped into a residential estate.

  RSPCA spokeswoman Mrs Rosanna Lai said the group would continue to ensure that the animals were properly treated.

  A visitor, Mr William Tang, 30, of Yuen Long, said: ''It may be good news to the animals. They no longer need to be kept in such a bad environment. But the zoo is an historical tourist spot in Hongkong and from this point of view I suggest that it be preserved. I believe the management should introduce some reforms to attract visitors.'' 



Zoo's closure sparks fears for future of animals