Nigerian Association of Zoological Gardens and Wildlife Parks (NAZAP) has lauded Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike on the government’s planned rehabilitation of the Port-Harcourt Zoo to further enhance tourism potentials of the state.
The National President of the professional body, Francis Abioye who made the commendation in a statement in Owerri at the weekend described it as a welcome development to see the Port Harcourt Zoo come back to life through the determined effort of the Governor who had earmarked N472million for the rehabilitation of the Zoo.
“We must appreciate and congratulate the Governor for looking into the deplorable state of Port-Harcourt Zoo which has been neglected by successive Governments in the State thus creating bad image for us over decades, stating that any society that cares for helpless animals would definitely care for its citizens,” he said.
Abioye, however, advised the state government against contracting non experts for the execution of the project, saying that such move may encourage possible violation of standards should the Government fail to consult Wildlife experts during implementation.
The association also urged the state government to apply existing local and international laws which regulate the operations and establishment of Zoological Gardens and Wildlife Parks to achieve the desired result, adding that any violation of conventional principles may attract both local and international sanctions from regulatory bodies during accreditation.
According to the President of the association, a letter jointly signed by the association’s National President Francis Abioye, the Secretary Prince Sakiru Raji and the PRO Vitalis Ortese has already been sent to the Governor stating the association’s input to the effort of the government to revamp the zoo.
“We hope that the Bureau for Public Procurement and Intelligence in River State will ensure that such projects are carried out by experienced conservation experts. It will be counterproductive if experts in conservation are not engaged in the project implementation. Engagement of experienced professionals will guarantee the execution of the approved project in line with new guidelines for 21st century Zoo. Any unprofessional work may deny River State Zoo accreditation soonest.
“The association seeks to properly guide the government on the dangers of carrying out the upgrade of a Zoo in the 21st century without a well profiled and experience experts. It could expose members of the public, tourists and Zoo staff to serious hazards.
“As a professional body, it is one of our mandates to institutionalize standards and enforce acceptable best practice among the operators of Zoos and Wildlife Parks in Nigeria.
“We also monitor Government policies as it affects Zoos and Wildlife facilities in Nigeria and provide professional guidance to the Government. Therefore, we strive to ensure that every Zoo and Wildlife facility in Nigeria operates with acceptable best practices.
“There are new guidelines enshrined by Federal Ministry of Environment with active involvement of NAZAP. There are also international laws guiding enclosure of wild animals in captivity to place the animals in an environment most suitable for their continuous survival”, the association said.