The Limassol zoo will continue to operate after the Municipal Council ruled against converting the area into an environmental park on Thursday evening. 

Speaking to CyBC radio, Limassol mayor Yiannis Armeftis said the proposal to relocate the animals and transform the area into a recreational park was rejected with 10 votes in favour and 14 votes against.

Armeftis said that there had been a “productive discussion” about whether a zoo could still meet the needs of modern society, emphasising that the matter had not yet been definitively resolved.

He said the future of the zoo will be addressed at a later point based on new proposals that are set to be formulated by relevant municipal groups.

On Friday, the Animal Party described the vote as “deeply disappointing”.

“It is a decision that ignores modern scientific knowledge regarding animal welfare, the ethical principles of our time, and the ever-growing social demand to end the captivity of animals for entertainment purposes,” it said.

At the centre of the municipal council debate was a proposal by the Cyprus Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CyCere), which envisages replacing the zoo with an open-access biodiversity and urban environment centre, known as “Fysi” (Nature), focused on environmental education, research and participation from the public.

The Animal Party had weighed in ahead of the vote, calling for a permanent end of animal captivity and arguing that preserving historical memory should not mean maintaining outdated practices.

“It cannot be that only the visitors’ smiles are remembered and the lions, bears, leopards, monkeys, and dozens of other wild animals that spent their lives behind bars forgotten,” the Animal Party said.

Limassol zoo had been subject to criticism for years following a history of scandals and allegations of mismanagements after a deer and a Savannah cat were found dead at the facility’s premises.