Zoo Features Rare Animals on its Restaurant Menu
WASHINGTON - Humane Society International (HSI) today joined a growing number of conservation organizations in condemning an agreement reached last week between Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra and Kenyan President Kibaki. The pact will result in over 100 animals being taken from their natural environment on the Kenyan savannah and shipped half a world away to captivity in a substandard zoo.
"Capturing animals from their native habitat and condemning them to a life of imprisonment is not only a morally bankrupt decision, it could well have far reaching negative consequences for Kenya's tourism industry," states Christine Wolf, African wildlife program manager for HSI.
HSI is mobilizing animal advocates around the world to urge the Kenyan government to reverse the decision and spare the animals and estimates that thousands of people have expressed their concern.
The idea for this arrangement was born at a meeting between the two heads of state late last year and drew strong protest from within Kenya as well as the international community. Thailand is to pay Kenya approximately $1 million for over 100 wild animals intended to draw tourists to the new attraction.
Chiang Mai Night Safari Park in Thailand officially opens on New Year's Day 2006, and its Vareekunchorn restaurant will feature "exotic" fare such as lion, tiger, elephant and giraffe. There has been no guarantee from zoo authorities that the animals shipped from Kenya will not end up on the menu. Wildlife trade experts at Humane Society International were shocked to learn that some of the species on exhibit at the zoo may also be available on the menu of a restaurant on the zoo's grounds.
"This agreement is wrong for Kenya, her wildlife, and her citizens" states Wolf. "Kenya has a proud history of protecting her wild animals and recognizing the benefits drawn from ecotourism. President Kibaki is risking his country's international reputation and placing their standing as role model in the tourism industry in peril by sentencing Kenya's magnificent animals to captivity and possible human consumption."
During Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra's visit to Kenya earlier this month, local organizations of concerned citizens and students followed him around the capitol city of Nairobi, protesting and chanting against the plan to pillage their natural heritage. Several Members of Parliament have also spoken out against the deal which was reached without the consultation of elected officials, as has the Kenya Wildlife Service, the agency charged with protecting the fragile ecosystems of Kenya. Animals such as zebra, giraffe, cheetah, and leopards are slated for capture and shipment to the Thai facility.
No date has been set for the capture of the animals. Local communities outraged by this move have threatened to block anyone from entering their tribal lands to remove animals.
As the international arm of The Humane Society of the United States, HSI addresses issues such as inhumane practices and conditions affecting companion and farm animals, illegal trade in wildlife, threats to endangered species, slaughter of marine mammals, and the use of animals in research and testing. HSI works with national and jurisdictional governments, humane organizations, and individual animal protectionists to find practical, culturally sensitive, and long-term solutions to common animal problems.
