Phuket Zoo to close down following Covid-19 economic destruction

Phuket Zoo is the latest casualty of Covid-19 restrictions’ devastation on the island province’s tourism economy. The zoo is closing down, and all its animals have been sent to new homes, according to the owner. The zoo’s owner and operator, 42 year old Suriya Tanthaweewong, told The Phuket News this week that the zoo started to close when the pandemic broke out in 2020, even though the zoo had brought joy to animal lovers for over 2 decades.

“Phuket Zoo had been in operation since 1996. We started to close in 2020. We could not bear the cost because there was no income from tourists coming in.”

When asked what he would like Phuket Zoo to be remembered for, Suriya said he didn’t want to talk about the past. He said, “Let’s just adjust to the current situation”.

The Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand is now caring for 11 tigers from the zoo, after the foundation prepared enclosures for them. WFFT has also taken in black bears from Phuket Zoo, however, it needs funding to build the bears enclosures. Each enclosure will cost around 14,000 euros, or nearly 520,000 baht. People who would like to help the WFFT build bear enclosures can click on their website HERE.

This news comes after Thailand’s wildlife department has taken a massive cut this year. While the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation used to receive 80 million baht each year to care for animals, this year, the funding wildly plummeted to 30 million baht due to a government cut.

With Thailand’s wildlife department struggling and zoos and animal rescue foundations lacking in funds, who knows what the future of Thailand’s animals holds.

SOURCE: The Phuket News