Subic zoo faces probe over ‘pet’ Bengal tiger
OLONGAPO CITY – Zoobic Safari, a popular tourist attraction in the Subic Bay Freeport, may lose its permit if found guilty of engaging in the illegal trade of wild animals, officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.
Francisco de Lara, head of this city’s community environment and natural resources office (CENRO), said Zoobic Safari has been traced as the origin of a Bengal tiger kept as a pet in the residence of Olongapo resident Voltaire Tagle.
“This is against the law because Zoobic Safari still has no wildlife farm permit that would allow it to transfer animals outside of its facility,” De Lara said.
Pedro Galban, chief of the DENR’s Protected Area and Wildlife Division in Region 3, had ordered the confiscation of the Bengal tiger named “Aslan,” but DENR personnel found it taken back by Zoobic Safari last Thursday night.
Galban reportedly issued the order because the tiger’s first owner, Elvira Juico, Tagle’s mother, failed to secure a certificate of wildlife registration.
In the absence of such a certificate, the owner has no right to claim the tiger, or any other wild animal, as pet, DENR officials told The STAR.
However, Dindo Basuel, operations manager of Zoobic Safari, said Aslan, now one year and eight months old, was loaned to Tagle’s family under an “adopt a tiger” program.
Basuel claimed that the P180,000 paid by Tagle was only a surety bond to ensure that the animal would be returned.
Francisco de Lara, head of this city’s community environment and natural resources office (CENRO), said Zoobic Safari has been traced as the origin of a Bengal tiger kept as a pet in the residence of Olongapo resident Voltaire Tagle.
“This is against the law because Zoobic Safari still has no wildlife farm permit that would allow it to transfer animals outside of its facility,” De Lara said.
Pedro Galban, chief of the DENR’s Protected Area and Wildlife Division in Region 3, had ordered the confiscation of the Bengal tiger named “Aslan,” but DENR personnel found it taken back by Zoobic Safari last Thursday night.
Galban reportedly issued the order because the tiger’s first owner, Elvira Juico, Tagle’s mother, failed to secure a certificate of wildlife registration.
In the absence of such a certificate, the owner has no right to claim the tiger, or any other wild animal, as pet, DENR officials told The STAR.
However, Dindo Basuel, operations manager of Zoobic Safari, said Aslan, now one year and eight months old, was loaned to Tagle’s family under an “adopt a tiger” program.
Basuel claimed that the P180,000 paid by Tagle was only a surety bond to ensure that the animal would be returned.
By BEBOT SISON JR. - The Philippine Star
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
8:01 PM
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