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PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
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Gardens thus separated the pair of jaguars temporarily to prevent them from mating. The separation of the jaguars was only a temporary measure and the Gardens has never used any contraceptives on that pair of jaguars. Hence the remark that contraceptives were too costly for the Gardens to sustain is untrue. Besides, the two jaguars had neither any abnormal behaviour nor any signs of psychological impairment since their separation.
Mr. Suen's question is in three parts.
In the first part of the question, Mr. SUEN asks whether the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens have any policies on breeding for animals being kept in the Gardens.
The Department's breeding policies, which are made on the basis of international practices, are to work for breeding animals of endangered species or animals of educational value, so as to fulfill the Gardens' missions on conservation and education.
The second part of the question is about the principles on which the breeding policies were formulated.
As a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resource-the World Conservation Union, the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens have all along been actively participating in worldwide breeding and conservation programmes in order to maintain continuity and steady development of the cage animal breeding groups and to protect wild animals from extinction. To this end, the Gardens have from time to time liaised and coordinated with animal organizations in various countries to determine the breeding needs and priorities of individual animal species. The breeding policies are mainly formulated on the basis of the following factors:
·
• The breeding needs of the animals as determined by the international breeding programmes:
• Available resources of the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens;
• Well-being of the animals;
• Conservation value of the animals; and
• Educational value of the animals to the public.
Over the years, the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens have taken part in various international conservation and re-introduction programmes. For example, the Gardens had successfully bred the endangered White-winged Wood Ducks which were delivered back to their native haunts in Thailand and Burma. Locally, the Gardens had also bred Chinese porcupines which were afterwards set free at the nature reserve in the countryside.
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Page 244 of 606
Page 244 of 606