–in keeping with gov’t quest to go ‘green’
IN keeping with the national drive towards a ‘green’ economy, the Guyana Zoological Park will be transformed into a Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Centre with the assistance of international organisations.
Partnering on this venture are the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (JZG) and the Protected Areas Commission (PAC), both of which organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in June of this year.
When transformed, the park’s primary mission will be the rehabilitation and reintroduction of wildlife to natural spaces, while providing environmental education opportunities for the Guyanese public.
This comes about as, internationally, the traditional concepts of zoos are changing, as many perceive the holding of wild animals in captivity as inhumane and, consequently, most zoos no longer source wild animals while a few have closed their facilities.
As such, over the years, the Guyana Zoological Park, as a policy, has avoided acquiring new wildlife for exhibition due to the ethical concerns about the impact of these conditions on the animals.
Also impacting their acquisition of animals have been financial, technical and infrastructural limitations.
The Guyana Zoo has, however, continued to facilitate injured, sick, orphaned, unwanted or confiscated wildlife as well as former pets, abused animals or large, unwanted predators, thereby functioning as a de facto rehabilitation centre.
However, due to the lack of rehab and release expertise, facilities and policies, most rescued animals become permanent residents as opposed to being released, once found to be healthy.
As such, in the near future, the JZG will collaborate with the Guyana Zoological Park to achieve a number of initiatives, beginning with the provision of veterinary and capacity-building and support in the development of systems and procedures.
It will result in the improvement of animal care, data collection, maintenance of animal records and animals’ medical records, routine checks, communication, and the zoo’s animal-care team.
Persons to benefit from this include the Guyana Zoo’s staff, as well as interested veterinarians from the Ministry of Agriculture.
JZG’s collaboration with Guyana will also help to include the zoo in a network of Latin American Zoos and Aquariums to support the local zoo’s work.
It will also result in the sponsorship of a three-year membership for the Guyana Zoo in ALPZA (Latin American Zoo and Aquarium Association) which serves Latin American and Caribbean zoos and aquariums.
