By Jhoo Dong-chan



Seoul Zoo at Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, has decided to buy back animals from a slaughterhouse, it said Sunday.



The decision follows criticism from activist groups after the zoo sold its animals to a slaughterhouse through a public auction in August.



According to a zoo official, the zoo and two animal activist groups ― Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE) and Korean Animal Welfare Association (KAWA) ― have agreed to share the expenses of buying back animals.



Of the 25 million won ($22,283) required, the zoo and CARE will pay 10 million won each, and KAWA will pay 5 million won.



The zoo sold 43 animals as its deer and goat enclosures had become overcrowded. The animals were 19 young black goats, 24 deer ― six female fallow deer, two female sambar and four reindeer.



But according to CARE, the buyer was a slaughterhouse operator, although the zoo claimed it did not know this. Of the animals, one black goat was butchered, according to CARE.



The activists demanded the zoo buy the animals back immediately, but the zoo was reluctant to do so due to the expense and its lack of cage space. A.J. Garcia, head of CARE's U.S. branch, staged a hunger strike in front of the Seoul Mayor's residence in central Seoul to call for the repurchase.



The zoo said the re-purchased animals will be sent to other zoos or farms in other regions.



"It is regrettable that one black goat was butchered in the interim," said the zoo official. "Seoul Zoo will establish a measure to prevent such incidents from recurring."



