Wildlife Charity Calls For Immediate End To Plans By Namibia To Ship 148 Wild Animals To Havana Zoo
11 years ago 
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14th November, 2012 13h01
A so-called ‘Noah’s Ark’ mission to re-locate 148 wild animals from Namibia to a Cuban zoo should be stopped before the first animals are moved this week, says a wildlife charity.
Care for the Wild, which joined forces with a number of other leading wildlife protection organisations earlier this year to condemn the move, believes the Namibian government should back out of the proposed ‘gift’.
Philip Mansbridge, CEO of Care for the Wild, said the export, which could be illegal under CITES regulations, would cause stress, suffering and long-term trauma to the animals, and was a throwback to the dark days of animal exploitation.
“The original Noah’s Ark was designed to save animals, not pluck them from freedom and condemn them to cages. They are claiming that the animals will be fine because Havana Zoo has been ‘improved’ – I don’t care if the rhino gets a sofa and its own masseur, it belongs in the wild,” he said.
“Care for the Wild cares deeply about responsible animal-related tourism – neither a zoo that obtains wild-captured animals, nor a country that treats its main attractions in this way, qualify as ‘responsible’.”
It is understood that the planned capture of wild animals, including lions, cheetahs, hyenas, rhinos and elephants, has taken place, and the mission to take them to Cuba will take place imminently.
Care for the Wild are encouraging people to contact either the zoo, or the Namibian Embassy.
Write to the zoo at:
For the attention of the Director General, Miguel Luis Abud Soto
Carretera de Capdevila / Avenida Zoo Lenin, Havana, Cuba, CU
Tel: +53 07 881 8195
The Namibian High Commission in London can be reached via: [email protected]
Care for the Wild is a charity based in Sussex dedicated to the protection of wildlife in the UK and abroad. For more information see www.careforthewild.com, or its animal-friendly tourism website www.RIGHT-tourism.org.More from
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