Delayed end

Costa Rica closes its last state zoos

Almost 300 animals (in the picture the transport boxes) were brought to a wildlife center by police officers, veterinarians and officials from the Ministry of the Environment.(Bild: AFP/Ezequiel Becerra)

Costa Rica, which passed a law eleven years ago to close state zoos, closed the last two state zoos at the weekend. Almost 300 animals were taken to a wildlife center by police officers, veterinarians and officials from the Ministry of the Environment.

A jaguar, crocodiles, spider monkeys, a sloth and many other species were placed in transport cages one after the other by those responsible for the former Simón Bolívar Zoo in the capital San José and taken by the police to the wildlife rehabilitation center on the outskirts of the city.

"We are about to become a country without public zoos, with a vision focused on sanctuaries and rescue centers," the Central American country's Environment Minister, Franz Tattenbach, told journalists during the transfer operation.

Private zoos not affected by law
Eleven years ago, Costa Rica passed a law to protect flora and fauna, according to which state zoos were to be closed. However, the law does not affect private zoos, of which there are at least 18 in the country.

The Simón Bolívar Zoo and another zoo near the capital should have been closed the following year after the law was passed in 2013. However, although the zoos belonged to the state, they were operated by a foundation that took legal action against the closure provided for in the law.

Closure delayed by a decade
The closure of the two zoos was therefore delayed by a decade and the facilities only finally closed their doors on Friday.