DA demands the shutdown of East London Zoo

1 March 2019

The outrage of citizens at the conditions of animals at the East London Zoo cannot be ignored.

The conditions under which animals are kept in this zoo by the Buffalo City Metro are unacceptable and is not conducive to their welfare and natural behaviour.

Social animals are isolated, nocturnal animals have nowhere to sleep or even take shelter during the day and larger animals such as a jaguar and a Cape Vulture are being kept in very small enclosures.

The Democratic Alliance has been seeking answers on these issues since 2013, as evidenced by the questions it has submitted to the Buffalo Metro Council on the 18th of February 2018. We recently also did an oversight inspection at the zoo.

In spite of this, we still have not received any meaningful answers from the BCM Council.

We have now submitted a further set of questions, as well as a motion (click here) calling for the closing down of the zoo and its re-establishment as a botanical garden. We have recommended that those animals that are healthy be moved to facilities that are capable of housing them.

The DA has a policy that entails:

1. The acceptance of non-human animals as sentient beings, which are able to feel the same pain and emotions as humans.

2. The recognition of basic universal freedoms for non-human animals:

Freedom from hunger or thirst;

Freedom from discomfort

Freedom from pain, injury or disease

Freedom to express (most) normal behaviour

Freedom from fear and distress

The DA is the only party in South Africa that is fighting for the ethical treatment of animals. We are the only party in Buffalo City that is standing up against the ill-treatment that is occurring at the East London Zoo.

The way we treat our animals reflects on how we treat each other.

The DA is the only party that can truly build One South Africa for All.

Issued by Annette Rademeyer, DA Buffalo City Councillor, 1 March 2019