IN keeping with the development and maintenance of all the historical sites and places around Georgetown, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is moving to establish a petting zoo at the Promenade Gardens.“We will be putting in place a zoological park in the Promenade Gardens, which will accommodate pet animals, being mostly local animals and birds,” Town Clerk, Royston King told the media recently at a press conference.
The whole idea of having a Petting Zoo at the Promenade Gardens, he said, is so as to restore the once popular promenade to its former glory, and help turn it into a major tourist attraction, especially with the upcoming 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations.
The upgrade at the ‘Promenade’ on down-town Middle Street, King said, will not only see the installation of the proposed ‘petting zoo’, but also the restoration of the facility’s many seating accommodations, its bandstand, and all of its fountains.
“We hope to add a little variety to complement the ‘Gardens’, as we hope that it will help to generate the much-needed revenue to continue onwards with our developmental work,” he said.
Asked whether the City has the requisite expertise to maintain the zoo, King said they will be looking outside of the M&CC City to fill those positions.
The establishment of a Petting Zoo at the Promenade Gardens, or ‘Little Gardens’ as it is more popularly known, will bring to two the number of such facilities in the city, the first having been established at the Botanical Gardens at the head of Vlissengen Road and upper Regent Street some years ago.
According to the Online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, “a petting zoo features a combination of domesticated animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed.”
It says that for many children, it is their first opportunity to see and touch an animal.