“Free Bua Noi!” “Graffiti on the walls of the building that houses the Pata Zoo on the 6th and 7th floors brought back bad memories in early March for the operators of the controversial site, who offered a reward of around 2,700 euros for information leading to it the guilty. The fate of Thailand’s last captive gorilla, on display at a Bangkok mall in the last 30 years, continues to spark controversy in the kingdom, where the animal’s cause clashes with tourist interests.
Animal rights activists, including famous American singer Cher, have for years campaigned for “Bua Noi” (Thai for “little lotus”), who lives without the opportunity to see the light of day. At over thirty years old – a gorilla can live up to 50 years in captivity – she is the last of her kind visible in the kingdom, where she does not exist in the wild.
Critics of the zoo point to its captivity conditions, symbolic of a country where the cause of animals can be sacrificed to attract tourists eager to spend time with exotic species. The animal “suffers from extreme mental stress,” criticized the animal protection association PETA. “She needs to be with her family or at least out in the fresh air with a chance to see things, feel nature, see birds fly,” company founder Edwin Wiek told environmental organization Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand.
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Authorities have enacted new laws to protect native species, but these don’t necessarily apply to private structures like Pata Zoo. The plant has applied for a renewal of its operating license, said Padej Laithong, director of the nature conservation agency. But for the manager, it’s all about fire safety standards, compliance with which is considered lax and has been responsible for many tragedies in Southeast Asia in recent years. “All of these details need to be worked out before the license is renewed, suspended or revoked,” he said.
On the weekends, families continue to visit Pata Zoo, where “Bua Noi” shares the bill with an orangutan, parrots and goats. The site’s management, which did not respond to calls from AFP, issued a press release denouncing attacks from abroad. “No citizen of any country has attacked their country over gorillas except in Thailand,” she wrote in response to the graffiti incident, assuring that the female gorilla was treated well and that “it cost more than it brought in.” The activists told them that a cage was not suitable for a gorilla, a social animal that lives in groups in the wild. The zoo had denied rumors that the primate would be sold in 2022.