Zoo bears prepare for a new life in Hungary

THE two big bears at the Limassol zoo will on Friday fly to their new home, a wildlife park in Hungary, it was reported yesterday.

After having spent years in cramped conditions at the Limassol zoo, the bears will be given a chance to re-adapt to wildlife and eventually be released in the park.
The bears, which are around 20 years old, are scheduled to fly to Hungary on a chartered flight early on Friday morning.

The cost of the transport – around £21,000 – will be covered by the World Society (WSPA) for the Protection of Animals.

Their new home is situated in a forested area near Budapest and is also the habitat of some 30 other bears.

Other animals at the zoo, accommodated in spaces that do not meet EU directives, will also soon be moving, as the state has already promised it will be phasing out the dated zoo. They include a couple of leopards and a tiger.

As for the rest, they are too old or obese to fly.

Patricia Kyriacou from Animal Responsibility Cyprus (ARC) suggested, however, that the transfer of the fit animals to better habitats, would at least make space for the ones staying behind to live the rest of their lives in better conditions.

The Limassol zoo has been under fire for years because of the notoriously unsuitable conditions the animals live in.

“Can you imagine being locked in your toilet for 20 years,” Kyriacou said.

Under the 1999 EU Zoo directive, animals kept in artificial surroundings must be provided with conditions, which aim to satisfy the behavioural needs of the individual species.