Thousands of wildlife lovers, many from Buffalo City, have signed a petition to rescue the bears, lions, a tiger, wolves, a jaguar, chimpanzees and other animals at the ailing 82-year-old East London zoo.
By early last night, 13071 people had signed an online petition calling for their rescue and relocation and for the historic zoo to be condemned and closed.
Charges related to cruelty which were brought by the NSPCA against the East London Zoo were withdrawn last week.
The petition, hosted on Change.org, which calls on Buffalo City Municipality to shut the zoo down and find the animals a safe haven, went live on Sunday. There were 1400 comments on a post which showed videos of the condition of the zoo animals.
Rio Ashington, whose photos and videos on Facebook sparked the uproar over the zoo, said: “I heard it was bad but didn’t think it would be as bad as it was. There was trash everywhere and clothing hanging from trees.
“The jaguar was in a very small and lonely enclosure. The bears were super skinny and scruffy, one was even missing some teeth. The path to the bears is so overgrown that I got messages from people saying they didn’t even know the bears were there.
“I want all the animals to be taken somewhere where all their basic needs will be met and they can get the stimulation they need. I think they should be rehabilitated and released into the wild if possible.”
In a further development, wildlife lovers have offered to come and take the animals to established sanctuaries.
Neil Ovens, of AID 4 SA, and Lionel de Lange, a bear rehabilitator and CEO of Lawrence Anthony Earth Organisation in the Ukraine, were among them.
Ovens, an in-house radio station manager in Cape Town, said: “We saw the post and decided we have to try and get involved.” He said his organisation would assist in the funding of vets to examine the animals.
“Lionel and I will be going to the zoo in a few days time to have a look at the enclosures and animals. The first prize would be to have the animals moved and relocated,” he said.
De Lange said he had rescued many bears in the Ukraine, where a lack of wildlife legislation had led to bears being kept in tiny cages in restaurants “where they are fed vodka and cake”, and at roadside “zoos”.
“I brag to the Ukrainians about how compassionate South Africans are towards animals, then I see this. I’ve had hundreds of people from all over the world writing to me about the bear and other animals at the East London zoo.
“Looking at that picture, I can see that bear is sick,” he said.
Samkelo Ngwenya, BCM spokesman, said: “It is important to note that as a city, we had acknowledged the challenges that the zoo has faced and had devised a very clear programme of action to rectify these. The first step has been to appoint a senior manager to investigate all the challenges and come up with a turnaround plan. Following the preliminary findings, we can reveal the issues that need a comprehensive improvement at the zoo are security, staffing, welfare and infrastructure.
“A report on these with recommendations and a proposed budget will be tabled to council in a few weeks’ time.
“What we are pleading for is that in the meantime, there are short-term issues that can be achieved if the zoo management is given the space and support to focus on these…we also welcome inspectors to enter the zoo and we call upon those who are embarking on protests, to instead redirect that energy into positive efforts,” he said.
Mass call to rescue EL’s zoo animals
By early last night, 13071 people had signed an online petition calling for their rescue and relocation and for the historic zoo to be condemned and closed.
Charges related to cruelty which were brought by the NSPCA against the East London Zoo were withdrawn last week.
The petition, hosted on Change.org, which calls on Buffalo City Municipality to shut the zoo down and find the animals a safe haven, went live on Sunday. There were 1400 comments on a post which showed videos of the condition of the zoo animals.
Rio Ashington, whose photos and videos on Facebook sparked the uproar over the zoo, said: “I heard it was bad but didn’t think it would be as bad as it was. There was trash everywhere and clothing hanging from trees.
“The jaguar was in a very small and lonely enclosure. The bears were super skinny and scruffy, one was even missing some teeth. The path to the bears is so overgrown that I got messages from people saying they didn’t even know the bears were there.
“I want all the animals to be taken somewhere where all their basic needs will be met and they can get the stimulation they need. I think they should be rehabilitated and released into the wild if possible.”
In a further development, wildlife lovers have offered to come and take the animals to established sanctuaries.
Neil Ovens, of AID 4 SA, and Lionel de Lange, a bear rehabilitator and CEO of Lawrence Anthony Earth Organisation in the Ukraine, were among them.
Ovens, an in-house radio station manager in Cape Town, said: “We saw the post and decided we have to try and get involved.” He said his organisation would assist in the funding of vets to examine the animals.
“Lionel and I will be going to the zoo in a few days time to have a look at the enclosures and animals. The first prize would be to have the animals moved and relocated,” he said.
De Lange said he had rescued many bears in the Ukraine, where a lack of wildlife legislation had led to bears being kept in tiny cages in restaurants “where they are fed vodka and cake”, and at roadside “zoos”.
“I brag to the Ukrainians about how compassionate South Africans are towards animals, then I see this. I’ve had hundreds of people from all over the world writing to me about the bear and other animals at the East London zoo.
“Looking at that picture, I can see that bear is sick,” he said.
Samkelo Ngwenya, BCM spokesman, said: “It is important to note that as a city, we had acknowledged the challenges that the zoo has faced and had devised a very clear programme of action to rectify these. The first step has been to appoint a senior manager to investigate all the challenges and come up with a turnaround plan. Following the preliminary findings, we can reveal the issues that need a comprehensive improvement at the zoo are security, staffing, welfare and infrastructure.
“A report on these with recommendations and a proposed budget will be tabled to council in a few weeks’ time.
“What we are pleading for is that in the meantime, there are short-term issues that can be achieved if the zoo management is given the space and support to focus on these…we also welcome inspectors to enter the zoo and we call upon those who are embarking on protests, to instead redirect that energy into positive efforts,” he said.
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