I have just come across an article about a new exotic animal tourist attraction in Slovakia. A single room inside the shopping center "Point" in Banská Bystrica (1,5 hours from Bratislava) offers, for a fee of course, petting and making photos with tame macaws. Blue-and-yellow macaw, hyazinth macaw, scarlet macaw, red-and-green macaw, military macaw, caninda, hybrid macaws and a white cockatoo.
I can´t say I am happy about such development. Similar "petting zoos" are surfacing in increasing intensity in both Slovakia and Czechia offering everything from snakes to kattas. Basically all of them without zoo licence and with variable, but mostly very compromised animal husbandry.
With increasing number of such places and thus number of animals, I expect increase of problematic seizures by local govermental forces after they get complains and finally start enforcing zoo licencing and better husbandry standards of such places. Both countries don´t have a net of rescue stations where officially seized animals could go. There are few places financed by state budget able to accept and care for a few CITES animals. But the rest of species and hybrids will lead to a headage sooner than later.
I can´t say I am happy about such development. Similar "petting zoos" are surfacing in increasing intensity in both Slovakia and Czechia offering everything from snakes to kattas. Basically all of them without zoo licence and with variable, but mostly very compromised animal husbandry.
With increasing number of such places and thus number of animals, I expect increase of problematic seizures by local govermental forces after they get complains and finally start enforcing zoo licencing and better husbandry standards of such places. Both countries don´t have a net of rescue stations where officially seized animals could go. There are few places financed by state budget able to accept and care for a few CITES animals. But the rest of species and hybrids will lead to a headage sooner than later.