Leofoo Village Theme Park must address several key problems with its animal enclosures and treatment of animals in its care, rights advocates said yesterday.
Animal rights groups Taiwan Animal Equity Association (TAEA) and Animal Skies made the remarks at a joint press conference following an investigation by Control Yuan members Jao Yung-ching (趙永清) and Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) into the park’s facilities.
Investigations have been ongoing since the death of a baboon that escaped from the park in March. The park has come under close scrutiny after the baboon that escaped from its facility was shot and killed by a hunter in an attempted capture.
Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times
The park first denied that the baboon was one of its animals, but later reversed its statement, saying it made a mistake counting its baboons. The park’s failure to promptly identify and contain the baboon has raised questions over its management.
“There are more than 1,000 animals spanning 70 species at the park. We hope authorities will not only focus on the baboon’s death, but look into the conditions of all of those animals,” TAEA researcher Sera Lim (林婷憶) said yesterday.
Citing an issue the park should address, the groups said its white rhinoceros enclosure is too small.
“The white rhinos, which Leofoo is so proud of, have been reduced to living in an exhibit area less than 360m2 in size,” they said.
“The space is too small for the rhinos’ daily activities, and doesn’t let them explore as they are inclined to do,” they said.
The groups cited the breeding guidelines of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, saying that the outdoor display area of rhinos should be at least 10,000m2.
The park’s safari area is also too small, and could lead to tigers and other animals killing each other, they said, adding that it also meant that only seven of the park’s 19 African lions and 24 Bengal tigers could use the space at a time.
The rest are kept in a separate enclosure, which is insufficient for their needs for physical activity, they said.
Citing the deaths of eight giraffes at the park over the past 10 years, the groups said the park has not improved living conditions for giraffes, which have been vulnerable to parasites and an unsuitable climate in Taiwan.
“The white rhinos and American bison are kept in open spaces, which have only simple canopies that cannot properly shelter them from the elements in inclement weather, resulting in the death of weaker animals,” the groups said.
Additional reporting by CNA
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS