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Zoo owners 'will only release world's saddest gorilla for $780k'

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Zoo bosses will only release the world's saddest gorilla to allow her a brief taste of freedom before she dies - for $780k.

Campaigners had hoped that Bua Noi, seen today in the video and pictures, would spend her last days in a sanctuary with other primates - having been locked in the filthy enclosure in a Thai shopping mall since 1990 when she arrived as a one-year-old.

However, the bosses of the Pata shopping mall have defied pleas from the government, animal rights group PETA and even pop singer Cher to release the tragic animal.

Bua Noi, which means 'little lotus', is now around 33 years old and nearing the end of her life, with healthy gorillas living between 35 and 40 years old.

The owner of the Pata Zoo reportedly told Thai environment minister Varawut Silpa-archa that he would only allow Bua Noi to die peacefully around other gorillas for 30 million Thai baht, around 782,000 USD.

Thanetpol Thanaboonyawat, secretary to the minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said last week that the government department had been organising charity fundraising events but failed to raise enough funds to meet the owner's demands.

He said that officials want to move Bua Noi to a sanctuary to spend her last days around other gorillas at a sanctuary in Germany.

Mr Thanaboonyawat said: 'We have held activities in the past campaigning for Bua Noi's release and to raise funds. We collected donations from Bua Noi's supporters. But the problem is that the owner refuses to sell Bua Noi. When he does agree to sell her, the price is too high.

'Bua Noi is considered private property so we cannot do anything to remove her. The owner bought Bua Noi before laws were introduced to prevent the trade and ownership of endangered animals and wild animals.'

Bua Noi has been held captive since she arrived from Germany when she was just a year old around 1990 when the owner imported her for three million baht.

Bizarrely, the filthy zoo with rusty metal bars sits on the top floor of a rundown department store in the centre of Bangkok, Thailand.

Heart-wrenchingly, she has been locked in her cramped and dirty cage and has never set foot outside the concrete floor.

There even appear to be tears in her eyes as she looks out from behind the bars of her enclosure, through a plastic screen separating her and tourists.

Bua Noi's plight first emerged in 2015 when animal rights activists handed in a petition which called for Bua Noi's release and the zoo's closure.

Speaking at the time, petition organiser Sinjira Apaitan said: 'I don't think animals should be locked up in such unnatural habitats. I hope to help all other animals being held captive in this high-rise zoo as well.'

In 2015, officials of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation ordered the zoo to close after it was found to lack the correct paperwork.

However, it eventually re-opened and kept the gorilla.

PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker said today that Bua Noi was being forced to live in 'horrifying and cruel conditions' and suffering 'extreme psychological distress'.

He added: 'This shabby facility is internationally condemned as one of the worst zoos in the world.

'I urge everyone to keep the pressure on Pata Zoo and to demand that it let PETA help retire these animals to reputable sanctuaries that would meet their physical and mental needs.'

The zoo denied there was any deal to sell the country's last gorilla.

A spokesman said: 'The current team of Pata Pinklao department store executives has been in charge of the management since August 28, 2020. Up to now, the executives have never entered any negotiations to sell Bua Noi with anyone or any agencies.

'The ageing gorilla has spent her life at the zoo and has been accustomed to this environment and a disease-free place for more than 30 years.'

Zoo director Kanit Sermsirimongkol said previously that there was 'no problem' with all animals living in the rooftop zoo and that Bua Noi's sad look is just her 'natural facial expression'.

He added: 'Before opening, we consulted zoologists and veterinarians and only selected animals that were suitable for the zoo. And they have been treated well.

'The criticism doesn't concern me because we know her best. Those people saw the picture of her on the internet and assume she's depressed. But that's how she looks just like humans - some have a sad face and some have a happy face.

'We have been taking care of Bua Noi like our own daughter. I know that we will have to find her a suitable new home one day but it's not good idea to immediately release her back into the wild without teaching her how to survive on her own.'

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