Ye Zhongyue, senior director of Leofoo Village, said yesterday that it is still unclear how the baboons escaped, and the overall number of baboons is still being counted.

(Photo by reporter Liao Xueru)

[Reporters Liao Xueru, Yang Yuanting/Comprehensive Report] Leofoo Village Theme Amusement Park in Hsinchu County changed its statement late at night on the 29th to admit that the baboons belonged to its own family, which caused an uproar from the outside world; Ye Zhongyue, the senior director of Leofoo Village, bowed and apologized yesterday, saying that the animal area is closed for inventory, and when will it open? How the baboon escaped could not be determined, and remains uncertain.

Lin Huaqing, director of the Forestry Bureau, said frankly that he no longer believed in Leofoo Village, and would invite experts and scholars to directly investigate the site of Leofoo Village today.

Lin Huaqing said that the Hsinchu County Government went to Leofoo Village to investigate and found no problems at that time, but the baboons would escape, which means there are loopholes in the facilities, and they will ask Leofoo Village to step up patrols.

In addition to checking the safety of the facilities today, experts will also identify the number of baboons in the park through images.

In addition, domestic zoos and farms will be invited to re-count the protected animals in the park in the near future.

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Ye Zhongyue bowed and apologized yesterday and said that after confirming that the baboons escaped from the zoo the night before, the zoo area was immediately closed and the number of all animals and protective facilities were thoroughly checked.

Rumor has it that a self-proclaimed employee said that the number of baboons in the park has already exceeded 250, and that the trees around the fence in the park were broken and fallen due to the wind, and the baboons climbed to the fence.

Leofoo Village stated that everything needs to be confirmed after the inventory results are released.

Park: Punishment will be based on the top supervisor

Ye Zhongyue emphasized that Leofoo Village assisted the authorities in hunting down baboons. From the hunter's earlier statement, it can be seen that the hunter was not commissioned by Leofoo Village. As for whether the hunter will still be prosecuted, it is not convenient to explain at this stage.

Ye Zhongyue emphasized that the park will conduct a deep self-review, and will punish the relevant supervisors and colleagues, and the punishment will mainly be the top supervisor.

For the consumption of social resources caused by searching for baboons, has any relevant compensation plan been developed?

Ye Zhongyue said that at this stage, the focus is still on the safety of the park and the accurate counting of the number of animals.

Animal protection groups call for the establishment of an emergency rescue mechanism

Leofoo Village stated that about 1,500 tourists entered the park yesterday. During the closure of the zoo, the park will provide tourists with meal coupons for on-site ticket purchases as compensation, but online and other channels will not be compensated.

Animal protection groups including the Taiwan Animal Rights Promotion Association, Concern for Life Association, and Birds and Beasts issued a joint statement yesterday, stating that a press conference was held on March 22 last year to reveal that the Leofoo Village Zoo had killed eight giraffes within ten years. Years have passed, but the zoo has still not improved its breeding environment, failed to review the negligence of dead individuals, etc., but planned to introduce three more giraffes, but was rejected by the Council of Agriculture. Mechanism, strict control, and an emergency rescue mechanism for wild animals should be established.

Leofoo Village did not respond to this. Chen Jizhong, chairman of the Council of Agriculture, said that the Council of Agriculture "takes prohibition as the principle and openness as the exception" when it comes to the import of wild animals. The Council of Agriculture has listed more than 9,000 species in the black list. The list, import bans, and imports have to go through special inspections. For example, last year Leofoo Village intentionally introduced three giraffes. In January this year, it was banned because of an expert meeting that did not meet animal welfare requirements.