Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia

South Korea to Put Tubby Zoo Animals on Diet

by VR Sreeraman on Aug 28 2007 7:30 PM

After almost a decade of the good life, tubby animals in a South Korean zoo are to go on a diet.

Seoul Grand Park zoo, which had been feeding its charges according to 1998 guidelines, has decided to go back closer to nature, the JoongAng Daily reported Monday.

"Feeding the animals according to the 1998 guidelines made the animals overweight," Park Seon-Deok, a member of the animal management team, was quoted as saying.

The zoo will decrease the amount of processed food, to which the animals have become accustomed, and increase the amount of natural materials.

"Horses, for example, like processed food better than grass, which is what they would be eating in the wild," Park said.

The zoo is also cutting portion sizes and instituting exercise programmes. In addition to healthier animals, it hopes to cut its annual 1.8 billion won (1.9 million dollar) feeding bill.

Source-AFP
SRM/J


Advertisement