Spain city mayor wants to turn zoo into environmental education centre and release “prisoner” animals

THE Vigo mayor has announced plans to turn the city zoo into an environmental education centre and release the “prisoner” animals.

“I don’t want animals in captivity in Vigo. I don’t want a zoo which has prisoner animals”, Abel Caballero declared at a press conference on Thursday.

“These animals cannot be in captivity in the 21st century”, the mayor added, even going as far as to describe the situation of many wild animals in the zoo as “absolute cruelty.”

Cabellero said the idea is for a “smooth and calm” transition from zoo to environmental centre, promising the city council would take responsibility for looking after the animals until the end of their lives given there are no other institutions to take care of them.

“We want environmental education, green education, contact with nature”, he commented.

The council will now put out to tender the contract for institutions to run an educational programme, with visits, camps and environmental volunteering among other initiatives for “a transformation of the zoological concept.”

Vigo council was the first in the country to prohibit circuses with animals.

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Written by

Cathy Elelman

Cathy Elelman is the local writer for the Costa de Almeria edition of the Euro Weekly News.

Based in Mojacar for the last 21 years, Cathy is very much part of the local community and is always well and truly up on all the latest news and events going on in this region of Spain.

Her top goals are to do the best job she can informing the local English-speaking community, visitors to the area and the wider world about about the news in Almeria, to learn something new every day, and to embrace very new challenge this fast-changing world brings her way.

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