The controversial zoo is reportedly providing teachers with unlimited access cards to the park (Animal Embassy Card) valid for an academic year, aiming to encourage attendance among the children in their care.
On Monday, Fernando Martín, the PACMA island coordinator in La Palma, publicly expressed his support for primary and secondary school teachers. They have denounced, in an annual campaign via a video released by the Association ATAN (Tenerife Association of Friends of Nature), the alleged “pressures” they face to promote the Loro Parque among students.
In the video, teachers criticise the zoo’s practices, which are supported by the Canary Islands’ Ministry of Education. They reveal that the zoo is gifting teachers unlimited access cards to the park (Animal Embassy Card) valid for an academic year, with the aim of promoting attendance among their students.
This situation is fraught with controversies that have reached a peak in recent times.
Loro Parque opened its doors in 1972 as a small facility where parrots and macaws performed tricks for the public, during a time when there was little regulation regarding the welfare of such animals. Today, the survival of this well-known zoo is constantly questioned in a society increasingly aware of animal cruelty and confinement for entertainment purposes.
PACMA Canarias has been vocal against the company, owned by German Wolfgang Kiessling. They have consistently denounced its practices through news articles, videos, and protests: “Its persistent insistence on conducting shows with orcas, among other species, has only resulted in their immense suffering. They are left in a state of sadness and frustration that can sometimes escalate into aggression, as was tragically recounted by the late trainer Alexis Martínez, whose mother is now vehemently opposed to the captivity of cetaceans,” stated Martín.
Other European parks, particularly those in France, have closed their doors under pressure from new animal welfare laws stemming from a society increasingly sensitive to animal suffering. However, in the Canary Islands, public institutions promote the zoo’s survival, as highlighted by this group of teachers who oppose the rhetoric that animals are well-off in captivity.
PACMA has raised concerns about what they consider a breach of the Public Employee Basic Statute, as accepting gifts from a private entity is classified in the Penal Code. They also object to the “misrepresentation” of the definition of “complementary activity” outlined in the ORDER of January 15, 2001.
For years, PACMA has been urging the Government of the Canary Islands to cease educational collaborations with this company and to develop monitoring plans for such parks, aiming for a gradual reduction in the presence of orcas and other mammals, and converting their facilities into centres for the protection of native wildlife.
