Kaohsiung City’s Shoushan Zoo has filed an application with the Council of Agriculture to accept a pair of white tigers offered by China, a zoo official said yesterday.
Chang Po-yu (張博宇), spokesman for the biggest public zoo in southern Taiwan, confirmed that the zoo, which is under the city government’s Economic Development Bureau, submitted an application for the animals with the council in August.
Chang said the zoo had spent NT$120 million (US$3.7 million) renovating its facilities, including a holding area to accommodate the tigers.
On Feb. 8, Scenic Area Administration of Kaohsiung City Director-General Lin Kun-shan (林崑山) dismissed media speculation that the zoo was closed for renovation to prepare for the tigers.
Chang said the zoo was still waiting for the result of the council’s review, adding that it is now up to the council to decide whether the tigers would come to Taiwan.
Chang was referring to a pair of white tigers offered by Xiangjiang Safari Park in Guangzhou Province to Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Chuang Chi-wang (莊啟旺) as a gift during Chuang’s visit to China last year.
The import of the tigers has been stalled because animal rights groups oppose the move, saying the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) states that tigers should not be traded or bred for purposes other than research or education.
CITES is an intergovernmental agreement to ensure that the trading of animals and plants does not hurt their prospects for survival.
Chuang has repeatedly criticized the city government for delaying the import of the tigers and threatened to take action should the delay go on.
The city government had previously vowed to abide by CITES because white tigers are an endangered species.
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