Tehran's Unauthorized Wildlife Facilities Warned

Wildlife species are kept in 12 locations in Tehran, several of which like Mellat, Chitgar and Saei Park have not obtained permits from the Department of Environment.

Mohammad Hossein Bazgir, the head of Tehran's office of DOE, said facilities designed to keep animals, such as zoos, bird gardens and animal care centers, must acquire the department's permit.

"Wildlife facilities must submit regular reports about the species, numbers, addition and removal of any animal as well as their births and mortalities," the official was quoted as saying by ISNA.  

These centers must adhere to standards pertaining to the animals' nutrition and care, in addition to their cage. Plus, a veterinarian must be constantly stationed there.

"The directors of facilities that do not meet the standards have been warned and given a deadline to present their documents and receive their permits," said Bazgir. If the centers bring their facilities up to DOE standards by the deadline, they will be granted a license, but failure to submit an application for a permit and improve living conditions will result in prosecution. Environment officials say that in spite of all the shortcomings, the department makes efforts to ensure regular monitoring of the facilities, which is supposed to be carried out every three months by provincial offices and reported to the central office in Tehran at least once a year.

Creating a technical supervisory committee with a permanent secretariat and regular meetings, formulating guidelines for the launch and management of animal reserves, participating in international environment expos and holding specialized meetings to review the guidelines are among measures taken by DOE to improve the conditions of captive animals.