Pin Thong Than, who lived 11 difficult years at the Phuket Zoo, is just two days away from long-needed surgery for a painful condition caused by malnutrition.
Today, the tiger and other animals were preparing to finally escape the dire zoo, four months after bankruptcy forced it closed in what’s said to be the first application of a law allowing a private welfare organization to care for displaced wildlife.
“At first we wanted to grab them in December, but the process took so long that we were only able to rescue them now,” Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand founder Edwin Wiek told Coconuts today.
Despite getting official approval three months ago, he said the final OK didn’t come until Friday.
Today, he was at the zoo preparing 11 tigers, six monkeys, two bears, and a gibbon for the move. Due to limited staffing, the foundation said the entire process could take a few weeks.
The foundation will relocate the animals about 700 kilometers north to its facility in Phetchaburi province.
Most of the zoo’s other animals had already been sold to other facilities.
The first four tigers and a sun bear, the latter of which is currently living in 2-by-2 meter enclosure, will be the first to hit the road tomorrow. Pin Thong Than is expected to undergo her spinal fluid procedure on Wednesday.
Before it closed down in December, the zoo had been plagued by complaints of cruelty and neglect, with a steady stream of photos showing animals in its care suffering under horrible living conditions.
In one of many harrowing stories, the zoo in 2016 dumped an overfed orangutan caged two years into the wild for fear he was obtained illegally. He died weeks later.
Since it closed, volunteers have visited the zoo daily to feed the animals. The tigers alone require upward of 5 kilograms of meat a day, each.
Wiek blamed the “always slow” bureaucracy for the long delay.
“When you talk about so many endangered animals and handing them over to an NGO, the authorities want to make sure it’s done professionally,” he said. “I guess that’s what made it more difficult for it to get done quickly.”
The longtime wildlife champion helped draft the Wild Animal Protection Act of 2019 which empowers third parties to care for confiscated or injured wildlife.
“The law only changed two years ago. NGOs can actually take care of protected wildlife on behalf of the government,” he added. “This is the first time that’s actually really happening. It’s all a bit slow, but it’s heading in the right direction.”
Wiek is soliciting donors for THB20,000 to finish an enclosure for the tigers, as well as volunteers to help feed the animals. Find more information on the foundation’s website.
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