Davide not keen on acquiring zoo animals

A Cebu City Zoo employee carries an iguana, which is one of the attractions at the zoo (CDN file PHOTO).

Gov. Hilario Davide III announced yesterday that he was not interested in acquiring the animals from Cebu City Zoo.

Davide said he declined the offer of Mayor Tomas Osmeña to donate the 272 animals in the zoo to the province.

“Nag-istorya nami ana (We already talked about that). He (Osmeña) was here (in the Capitol) the other day, ako siyang giingnan dili lang mi modawat anang mga (I told him that we will not accept those) animals,” Davide said.

In their initial talks, both local chief executives agreed to include the Cebu City Zoo property in exchange for the province-owned lots covered by Ordinance 93-1 and occupied by city residents to address the land dispute between the two local government units (LGUs).

Davide earlier said that he would convert the Cebu City Zoo into an amusement park and donate the animals to a private entity or other LGUs.

Davide said that the province currently does not have any personnel capable of handling the animals.

If the land swap pushes through and Osmeña would include the animals, Davide said the province would have to allocate a budget to hire personnel, which is another expense for the province.

“Ang maintenance ana, ang pag-preserve sa mga animals expensive kaayo (The maintenance and the preservation of animals are very expensive) because we have to put people there at the zoo,” Davide said.

Davide said he would ask Osmeña to donate the animals to Amlan town in Negros Oriental, which is willing to accept the animals.

Davide said he will be having a meeting with Osmeña next week to finalize everything for the 93-1 land swap deal.