It's fantastic news for both animals and the fight for animal rights. At the end of June, the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires announced they are closing their zoo and moving 2500 of their boarders to sanctuaries instead.
Organisations have long condemned the conditionsthese animals are forced to endure, living in the centre of the city inrun-downfacilitiesat the intersection of two very busy roads.
Source : @German de Stefano
The zoo received particularly bad publicityduring a heat wave which greatly harmed their polar bears.
Source : @Enrique Marcarian / Reuters
In a press release, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, the mayor of Buenos Aires, hada strong message to share:
This situation of captivity is degrading for the animals, it's not the way to take care of them. What we have to value is the animals. The way they live here is definitely not the way to do that.
Source:@ Juan Mabromata / AFP / Getty
Having been around for 140 years, the zoo will soon close its doors and make a new start, turning intoan ecopark "where children will learn how to take care of and understand different species", underlines the city's mayor.The new park will becomea sanctuary and treatment centre for animals who have escaped from illegal trafficking.
Source : @German de Stefano
The 2500 animals housed by the Buenos Aires zoo will be moved to sanctuaries where they will live out a peaceful end to their life, away from the bars and camera flashes which have long governed their existence.
Source : @La Nacion / Fernando Gutierrez
However, about fifty of the oldest and most fragile animals will remain in the zoo because they are not thoughtcapable of adapting to a new way of life. This is the case for Sandra, the29-year-oldfemale orangutan pictured below.
Source : @Juan Mabromata / AFP / Getty Images
But the good news is that the older residents will at least no longer be in the public eye.We can only hope that other zoos will start to follow suit.
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