Zoo steps up safety measures
Consultant, police join forces to keep criminals outside
PLANS are afoot to make the East London Zoo safer and ensure a pleasant experience for visitors.
Ark Corporate and Image Consultant visited the facility yesterday, along with police and the Coastal Protection Unit, to ascertain how much would be needed to revamp the facility and make it safer. The consultants, who were roped in by the Buffalo City Metro (BCM), will submit a report to the city.
The planned security upgrades come after a spate of crimes inside the zoo where people have, in recent years, been attacked by assailants, who jumped from the overgrown bushes.
Ark Corporate and Image Consultant spokeswoman Nickey Hardman said the aim of the assessment was to find out where the crime hotspots were.
“We want to know exactly how they [alleged criminals] come in so that we can figure out a plan to repair the boundary.
“Our plan is to make the zoo a cleaner and safer place. We want to get rid of the bushes, so that people can have access to the zoo without being afraid of being mugged,” she said.
Hardman said after the assessment had been done, a proposal would be drafted and sent to BCM.
“This plan will definitely bring in more people into the zoo. It is meant to reassure people of their safety when they are here.”
She said every staff member of the facility were eagerly waiting for the security plans to be implemented.
“They want the zoo to be a safer place. They all love the animals, but there is a bit of a staff shortage but it’s nothing we can’t solve.”
She said she was 100% sure that the high crime rate at the zoo was the main reason why people were reluctant to visit the facility.
Zanekhaya Gobozi, a member of BCM’s Coastal Protection Unit dispatched at the zoo, said: “Ever since we came here, there has been a decline in the number of people who get robbed.”
He said he was happy as the number of people coming to the zoo to camp and having picnics have increased.
Meanwhile there has been mounting pressure for the zoo to be closed because of alleged animal cruelty.
However, Hardman said there was no inhumane treatment towards the animals.
“I assure you all the animals are well-treated.
“Fortunately the animals were never in any kind of danger or being exposed to life-threatening situations. The only animals are old.”
She said the birds were in good health as they were treated by an avian specialist.
“We have had specialists coming in to assess the health of all animals,” she said. — issue is that the