Dozens of animal lovers have taken to the East London Zoo to express their dissatisfaction about the living conditions of animals at the facility.
They argue that the enclosures and cages at the zoo are too small and deprive the free movement of animals.
They’ve also called on the zoo management to improve the living conditions or close the place.
One of the organisers is Gabriella Naidoo.
“If you look at the vultures you can see that the cages are so small that the vultures cannot even expand their wings inside the cage. If you there, there is nothing interactive for the birds to do, even the chimpanzees and the monkeys. We know that monkeys love interactive toys and we know that primates are interactive in the wild. We want the enclosures to replicate the natural behaviour of what it would be in the wild”
Acting Zoo Manager, Siani Tinely says plans are already in place to improve the zoo.
“The NSPCA has been visiting the zoo since May 2016 and as they visit, there has been no welfare issues as far as they are concerned. But it does acknowledge that there are standard issues and this was realised last year and a turnaround plan has been put in place and the study has been almost complete. In terms of the strategy, it is to assess every animal at the zoo, the enclosure size, an assessment on the animal, its reason for being here, its role for conversation and what it means if it’s going to stay here.”
