Wildlife Friends is converting Lao Zoo into rescue center

The Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) is proud to announce that from January 26, 2015 we are actively involved with the “Laos wildlife rescue center” as a part of the Lao Zoo, Vientiane in the Laos PDR.

The Lao Zoo is owned by the Ministry of Defense of Laos, and has been kept running by donations from an entrepreneurial Laos-Thai family over the last decade. All parties involved feel it is now time to move forward and change the initial objective from running a national zoo to turning it gradually into a wildlife rescue facility.

In the months to come we will be completing a fully equipped wildlife hospital and quarantine facility on-site, and start building new enclosures, both for rescued wildlife and to provide better welfare standards for the animals already at the zoo. Our focus will be to set up a system and infra-structure to assist the local authorities with the care of confiscated wildlife and wildlife donated by locals, such as wild pets and injured wildlife. Our next step will be to gather information regarding illegal wildlife trade and possession. Starting an educational centre on the premises of the Lao Zoo will also be among our long-term goals.

A new web site will be set up soon with contact details, info, and photos of our work in progress.

The Laos Wildlife Rescue Center is already a member of the Wild Animal Rescue Network (WARN) of Asia, and has applied for membership in the Species Survival Network.

We hope to partner with many other organizations within Asia and worldwide. This facility will be Laos’ first multi-species wildlife rescue center. Laos is known to be a hot-spot for illegal wildlife trade. Establishing a wildlife rescue facility up to international standards will be an important step forward in battling this trade.