Animals Donated to Cuba in ‘Good Health’

HAVANA TIMES — The 129 African animals donated by Namibia to Cuba are completing their quarantine period and remain “rigorous” and “healthy” at the National Zoological Park, south of Havana, reported AFP.

The animals that arrived in Cuba in the first part of “Operation Noah’s Ark II” should be “released” in late December, said the director of the zoo’s Animal Welfare Department, Alberto Martin. However, they will not be put on view for the public until “July or August, once they finish their adjustment period.”

The 20 species, valued at more than $17 million according to the official media, are being maintained in a state of semi-captivity.

A second group of animals will be sent to the island next year, despite criticism for the South African Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The organization said it was concerned that the long flight would be stressful for the animals, and it questioned whether their new tropical territory would be suitable.