There were only two left, they are now closed. Costa Rica emptied its last public zoos this weekend. It is the first country in the world to take such a measure, following a law adopted for animal welfare. The country’s authorities believe that jaguars, monkeys and other spiders will live a much better life outside their cages.
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Goodbye, San Jose public zoo enclosures. To move some 300 animals, the operation required significant resources, police, veterinarians, officials from the Ministry ofEnvironment of Costa Rica.
A jaguar, crocodiles, sloths and other species have discovered their new habitat. Too accustomed to captivity to immediately return to the wild, they have not taken up residence in the jungle. It was the aptly named wildlife rehabilitation center that opened its doors to them.
This move marks the end of an eleven-year process, which began with the adoption of a law in 2013 ratifying the closure of public zoos for animal welfare, but also for the well-being of public finances. These establishments actually cost Costa Rican taxpayers 1 billion columns, approximately 200 million euros.
The process, however, took time to complete, due to several legal battles initiated by the concessionaires of these zoos. Rather than going to conflict, the government preferred to wait for these concessions to come to an end, which happened this Saturday.
There still remain 18 private zoos in the country. They are not affected by this law and therefore remain open.
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