Pata gorilla may be relocated

Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) agrees with animal rights campaigners that the gorilla and other big animals must be moved from a rooftop zoo to the ground floor, but carrying out that order is easier said than done.

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Popular gorilla Bua Noi has lived in a rooftop zoo since 1988. Animal rights activists want her to be moved to a safer location. PATIPAT JANTHONG

DNP orders Pata store gorilla be relocated to ground floor

Campaigners fear fire risk for rooftop zoo

Apinya Wipatayotin

Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) has ordered Pata department store to move a female gorilla living alone on the rooftop to the ground floor following complaints by animal rights groups.

Department chief Niphon Chotiban said his agency has renewed the zoo's licence for another year, which is set to expire in June next year, on the condition the store provides safety measures for the animals, as recommended by a committee overseeing the licensing of private zoos.

The committee had suggested the zoo must install fire safety equipment and put in place evacuation plans for the animals in case of fire.

The panel also ordered the store to move big animals such as tigers, bears and the gorilla to the ground floor, while leaving smaller animals in the existing facility at a number that could be managed if a fire broke out.

Under a DNP order only big animals would be moved to the ground floor of the shopping centre whereas smaller animals like this one would remain where they are. PATIPAT JANTHONG

"As a unit enforcing the law, we need to be fair. We understand the feelings of animal lovers. But we don't have the right to manage private property. We have shortened the licence period from five years to one year to put pressure on the zoo. That is the best thing we can do within our authority," Mr Niphon said.

The department has given the store 180 days to submit action plans in line with the committee's suggestions, which included instructions for it to move the 27-year-old gorilla to the ground floor.

Mr Niphon conceded it would be difficult for the store to find a new home for the primate as investment costs for such a facility could be as high as 30-50 million baht.

Moreover, no one could guarantee the animal would be safe in a new home.

The DNP's veterinary experts have expressed concerns the primate's health could be at risk if she was moved to a new home, saying she could be exposed to bacterial infections if sanitation at the new place is not satisfactory.

The vets backed up their claim with reports of a group of gorillas that died from bacterial infections in Singapore after being moved to new homes.

Pata Zoo bought Bua Noi from Germany in 1988 and has kept the animal on the store's top floor ever since.

There have been no reports the animal has suffered any serious illness since being moved to the zoo and she receives regular medical checkups by store veterinarians.

The safety of Bua Noi became an issue after animal rights groups working together on an internet campaign called for her to be moved to the ground floor for fear she could be killed if fire breaks out at the store.

Animal rights activists wearing gorilla Bua Noi masks show the names of 35,000 supporters demanding the gorilla be moved from a zoo on the roof of a department building in Bangkok. TAWATCHAI KEMGUMNERD

The campaign has attracted the support of 35,000 internet users.

Sinjanya Apaithan, one of the campaigners, said her group had no intention to push for the closure of the zoo at the store, but to seek help for Bua Noi who has lived in poor conditions and needed a better place to live than in a rooftop zoo.

A source at the DNP said it was not clear whether the department would refuse to renew the licence for the zoo next year if the store did not comply with instructions to move the gorilla. The decision rested with the department chief, the source said.

The zoo's owner had told him that he could not build a new home for Bua Noi as he did not have enough money, but he was willing to share the cost of building a new home for her with any private or state-owned zoo, according to the DNP source. The zoo says the gorilla is one of its big drawcards.

The DNP has no policy to buy the primate or construct a new home for it because of the high costs involved, Mr Niphon said. He vowed to work with others to find the best resolution for Bua Noi.

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