Rescued animals have new home in Negros park

MANILA, Philippines - Animals rescued and confiscated from wildlife traffickers will be taken and nurtured at a nature and adventure park in Negros Oriental, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said yesterday.

DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) recently forged an agreement with Dreamland Nature and Adventure Park in Amlan town, which agreed to become a repository of rescued animals.

Owned and managed by the municipal government of Amlan, Dreamland attracts tourists and local folk with its nature and wildlife adventures.

BMB director Theresa Mundita Lim said the partnership was part of the bureau’s improvement of its wildlife rescue centers, which rehabilitate injured, sick and orphaned native wildlife and releases healthy animals to their natural habitat.

 Lim said the BMB is authorized to dispose of some of the animals in its custody through different modes, including partnership with zoos and other animal centers.

 “Some of our confiscated protected species cannot be released back to the wild so we turn them over to qualified institutions for co-management,” she said.

Lim said the partnership with Dreamland would boost government efforts to educate the public on the importance of preserving wildlife.

Under the agreement, the BMB will “loan” Dreamland certain species from its wildlife rescue centers.

The bureau will document and monitor Dreamland’s care of the animals and provide the necessary technical assistance.

Dreamland will assume full responsibility including shouldering all expenses for the transfer and care of the animals.

The facility will also be allowed to acquire other species from authorized sources, but the loaned animals and their offspring will remain government property.