animalists demonstrate in front of the Tête d’Or to demand the closure of the zoo

An action in front of the gates of the Tête d'Or park, the famous park located in the city center of Lyon, took place this Saturday at the initiative of around fifteen animal associations, reports BFMTV. The twenty activists gathered in front of the gates demanded “the closure of the Lyon zoo and the placement of the animals in shelters”.

The associations wrote a letter to the mayor of Lyon on October 31 to request the closure of the Tête d'Or park zoo, which is more than 150 years old. A request initially made by the PAZ association, at the origin of the missive, renewed at the end of the year. “To date, neither the mayor nor his deputy have responded”deplored the signatories. “Despite Grégory Doucet's anti-captivity speeches during the campaign for the 2020 municipal elections, the town hall still does not seem to want to move forward on the subject of the zoo. Since March 2024, deputy Gautier Chapuis no longer responds to PAZ”continued the animal activists.

On its Facebook page, PAZ also indicates that it has proposed, as part of the participatory budget of the city of Lyon, to place the giraffes “imprisoned” from the zoo to a shelter and “that their enclosure be transformed into a mini-museum of awareness”.

The environmentalist majority will not close the zoo

Last March, the local environmental executive announced that it was working on a series of 60 actions relating to pets in the city, liminal animals (squirrels, rats, pigeons, mosquitoes, etc.), biodiversity but also wild animals. in captivity of which the municipality has certain species at the Tête d'Or therefore. Aware of the importance of the zoo, entry to which is free, for the Lyonnais, the majority say they do not want “close” the animal park “but to make him enter into a transition”.

A transition focused on research, protection of biodiversity and awareness of its collapse. “The objective is to be at the forefront of what can be done best in terms of the condition of captive animals. Vegetation, for example, serves as a hiding place to allow animals moments of respite. For example, we are going to install wooden panels to help them hide”confided at the time Gautier Chapuis, the deputy in charge of animal welfare. The municipality also indicates that it wants to look, species by species, at which animals will be preserved and which will not. Giraffes, zebras, watusis, crocodiles, lemurs and other animals live in this zoo.