The Protected Areas Commission (PAC) has an ongoing campaign to enhance our Urban Parks to create a more engaging atmosphere for the thousands of patrons who visit daily. Some of these enhancement projects are ongoing across all of our Urban Parks with the support of local and international stakeholders, while more long terms plans are being examined. This will see the National Park, Botanical Gardens, Guyana Zoo and the Joe Vieira Park benefiting from major and micro projects to enhance these facilities throughout this year and the foreseeable future.
The conditions of the Guyana Zoo in particular, are constantly brought to the attention of management and we would like the public to recognize that we are working assiduously to improve the conditions of the Zoo for both the patrons who visit and the animals who live there. Most importantly, the PAC currently have a tender out in the print for the rehabilitation of the animal clinic and the jaguar enclosure, which is all part of enhancing the aesthetics of the zoo in a phased approach.
Currently our Zoo does not function according to the definition of a traditional “Zoo”; i.e. we do not seek out and acquire animals for captive breeding or ex-situ conservation. Rather, the animals currently in the Zoo have been rescued from various abandoned, illegal or abusive conditions, and brought to us for rehabilitation and release. Those who can no longer survive in the wild are rehabilitated and provided a safe space in our Zoo to live out the remainder of their lives. Over the coming weeks the public will learn more about the Zoo and its function as a Rescue Centre. Additionally, our Zoo has served as a wildlife education center in the past, using our animal ambassadors to encourage conservation and teach wildlife education to youths along the coast. Our efforts are centered around ensuring our population and visitors alike become familiar with our local wildlife to be more knowledgeable about our home-grown biodiversity and natural wealth.
The Zoo is managed by the PAC, a semi-autonomous government agency. Several enhancement projects have been approved for the Urban Park and the Guyana Zoo under the 2023 budget, including projects to improve drainage, security, lighting and our animal enclosures. We have already begun working on some of these projects, and there has been improvements in the walkways and enclosures in some parts of the Zoo. In the coming months our team will be working with stakeholders and contractors to continue these renovations. As part of these efforts, our engineer and team met with interested contractors on May 3rd, 2023, to discuss works on a Jaguar enclosure and rehabilitation of our animal hospital.
Further to this we will be launching discussions with interested stakeholders from the public and private sectors and the business community, who we hope will lend their support to enhancing our Zoo. We will be announcing more information as time progresses, and inviting stakeholders to meetings to discuss how we can work together.
The Board of Directors, management and staff of the Protected Areas Commission will continue to work with all stakeholders, including local and international partners to enhance our Zoo and Wildlife Rescue Center This is being done in a phased approach, while the PAC remains committed to expedite this process to enhance green urban spaces for healthy living and recreation for all Guyanese. (DPI)
