Cambodia closes site; owner said earlier deaths were 'unavoidable'
The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Wildlife officials rescued more than 250 threatened wild animals from a private zoo, where they had been kept in appalling conditions without sufficient food, a government official and a conservation group said Thursday.
The Cambodian government closed the Angkor Zoo in Siem Reap province, home to the famed Angkor Wat temple, after many animals died or disappeared, Washington D.C.-based Wildlife Alliance said in a statement.
"The zoo lacked food and hygiene," said Vann Sophana, a forestry administration inspector with Cambodia's Agriculture Ministry. "It did not have a veterinarian, and its cages are narrow. The animals are skinny and hungry."
Nick Marx, a Wildlife Alliance animal husbandry specialist, said the animals remained at Angkor Zoo and were being looked after by a team of rescuers. Arrangements were being made for some to be transferred beginning this weekend to the Phnom Tamao Zoo, about 200 miles south of Siem Reap province.
The zoo holds a variety of wild animals, including clouded leopards, sun bears, pangolins, gibbons, otters and wild birds, Wildlife Alliance said. But several endangered animals at the zoo, including two species of leopards, two gibbons, storks and deer, have died or disappeared in recent months.
Zoo owner Seng Chhoeun said he called in a private veterinarian to look after the animals whenever they were sick but that the deaths were "unavoidable because there were so many of them."
Seng Chhoeun dismissed allegations that he was involved in the illegal wildlife trade. He said he bought the animals from villagers when the zoo was opened five years ago, but never asked where they got the animals from.
Full veterinary checkups will be performed on all the animals, many of which may be sick or injured. Healthy birds, reptiles and amphibians will be released into protected natural habitats, the alliance said.
The size of Angkor Zoo is about 2.5 acres, which is considered "extremely small" for a large number of animals, Marx said.
"The animals that are still there (at Angkor Zoo) are probably the tough ones that have survived poor conditions and diet," Marx said. "We're extremely happy ... that this (zoo) is closed."
The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Wildlife officials rescued more than 250 threatened wild animals from a private zoo, where they had been kept in appalling conditions without sufficient food, a government official and a conservation group said Thursday.
The Cambodian government closed the Angkor Zoo in Siem Reap province, home to the famed Angkor Wat temple, after many animals died or disappeared, Washington D.C.-based Wildlife Alliance said in a statement.
"The zoo lacked food and hygiene," said Vann Sophana, a forestry administration inspector with Cambodia's Agriculture Ministry. "It did not have a veterinarian, and its cages are narrow. The animals are skinny and hungry."
Nick Marx, a Wildlife Alliance animal husbandry specialist, said the animals remained at Angkor Zoo and were being looked after by a team of rescuers. Arrangements were being made for some to be transferred beginning this weekend to the Phnom Tamao Zoo, about 200 miles south of Siem Reap province.
The zoo holds a variety of wild animals, including clouded leopards, sun bears, pangolins, gibbons, otters and wild birds, Wildlife Alliance said. But several endangered animals at the zoo, including two species of leopards, two gibbons, storks and deer, have died or disappeared in recent months.
Zoo owner Seng Chhoeun said he called in a private veterinarian to look after the animals whenever they were sick but that the deaths were "unavoidable because there were so many of them."
Seng Chhoeun dismissed allegations that he was involved in the illegal wildlife trade. He said he bought the animals from villagers when the zoo was opened five years ago, but never asked where they got the animals from.
Full veterinary checkups will be performed on all the animals, many of which may be sick or injured. Healthy birds, reptiles and amphibians will be released into protected natural habitats, the alliance said.
The size of Angkor Zoo is about 2.5 acres, which is considered "extremely small" for a large number of animals, Marx said.
"The animals that are still there (at Angkor Zoo) are probably the tough ones that have survived poor conditions and diet," Marx said. "We're extremely happy ... that this (zoo) is closed."
9 comments:
EH GRINGOS AND INDIANS PHHNONG,
THERE ARE STILL SPACES FOR ALL OF YOU IN THE SIEMREAP ZOO BUT THEY HAVE JUST SMALL CAGES AND LITTLE FOOD.
DO YOU WANT TO COME AND TRY? if not just shut your barking mouth for ever!!!!!!
You idiot can't you see that make way for Ah Hun Xen and its Pkay Chors,
And for you Ah Yuon Vietnamese we will send you via Mekong to South China Sea.
The Cham will have to deside to send you back to Hanoi or they just give you to the fish.
Small change Viet!
Hey, don't forget to rescue our
jobless the animal Union leaders
and the SRP. Otherwise, they will
be even skinnier than the zoo's
pets.
Correction:
Hey, don't forget to rescue our
jobless FROM the predator Union
leaders and the SRP. Otherwise,
they will be even skinnier than
the zoo's pets.
Good on them!. We must applaud to them for sucessfully catching all criminals to deplete our endanger animals. We must pay them bonus for their good job. These officials deserved to be recognised for their hard work. Areak Prey
Nope, people have been feeding on
wildlife since day1, and they are
not criminals. The wildlife
activists are criminals.
EH AH HUN SEN AND COMMUNIST YOUNS PHHNONG,
THERE ARE STILL SPACES FOR ALL OF YOU IN THE SIEMREAP ZOO BUT THEY HAVE JUST SMALL CAGES AND LITTLE FOOD.
DO YOU WANT TO COME AND TRY? if not just shut your barking mouth for ever!!!!!!
Hey, don't forget to rescue our
goverment leaders and the CPP.
Otherwise, they will
be even skinnier than the zoo's
pets.
Yep, and we don't want that to
happen.
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