Cage fight: row brews over conditions at Hong Kong zoo in a concrete jungle
Wildlife experts accuse officials of ‘inertia’ over upgrade of ‘outdated’ facilities at ‘overcrowded’ animal house
Animals at Hong Kong’s showpiece zoo in the heart of the city’s concrete jungle are still being kept in sub-standard conditions - almost two years after concerns emerged about their treatment.
Wildlife welfare organisations say months after government officials who run the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens in Mid-Levels asked them for ideas to upgrade conditions at the century-old zoo, almost nothing has been done.
The zoo has changed little since it first took in animals in 1975 following years of it being solely a botanical garden. It keeps rare species including orangutans in enclosures experts described as “outdated, inappropriate and overcrowded” during a government-backed review 18 months ago.
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Experts from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Animals Asia and Orangutan Aid submitted reports following investigations into the facilities, recommending they phase out all animal collections and stop all breeding programmes.
A year and a half on and the three groups, which submitted carefully crafted reports after being asked by the government, have had no response or indication that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will take on any of their suggestions.
”Very little has been done [to improve welfare standards at the zoo], with only some incremental changes made since last year,” said veterinary surgeon Dr Jane Gray of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
“It’s quite sad, really,” she added. “Everyone is getting really tired by the inertia of the LCSD.”
