Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 12 / Trend M.Aliyev /
There are many difficult problems associated with keeping wildlife in restaurants, Azerbaijani Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Huseyngulu Bagirov told Trend today.
"As the wild animals that we recently took from restaurants and entertainment centers had been domesticated, their release back into nature is associated with a number of problems," he said.
The ministry's employees, together with the interior and tax ministries, performed raids to stop wildlife from being kept in cages at various leisure centers. The raids revealed that a bear was kept in a cage at the Qurd Qapisi restaurant in the Sabail district in Baku. Three bears and a wolf were also kept in a recreation center in the Lerik region. The bears were taken from the restaurants and handed over to the Altiagac National Park's Wildlife and Rehabilitation Clinic Center. The wolf was released in the Girkan National Park. The ministry also revealed that a squirrel kept in a cage in a cafe in the Khatai district and two wolves stores in cafes in the Hovsan village were released in the Absheron National Park.
Legal entities must pay a fine of 5,000-7,500 manat for keeping wild animals in cages and officials must pay a fine of 2,000-2,500 manat. Individuals must pay a fine of 200-500 manat.
"Unfortunately, most restaurant owners are individuals and it is hard to fine them as legal entities. But the main problem is not fines, but rather future of these animals," Bagirov said.
He said the ministry is forced to keep such animals in its Wildlife and Rehabilitation Clinic Center for long periods before their release.