Argentina zoo rejects moving polar bear to Winnipeg

Argentina's last captive polar bear will remain in the country despite a petition by hundreds of thousands of people asking that he be moved to Canada.

The director of the Mendoza Zoo in western Argentina told The Associated Press Tuesday the 28-year-old bear will not be relocated to Winnipeg.

• Send 'sad' Argentinian polar bear to Canada, supporters urge
• Winnipeg zoo's Journey to Churchill exhibit opens

Animal rights advocates say the bear named Arturo paces nervously in his concrete enclosure and suggest the animal suffers from depression.

They campaigned to move the bear to the Assiniboine Park Zoo, which has welcomed the idea and just opened its10-acre Journey toChurchill exhibit which features a world-class polar bear enclosure.

But Mendoza Zoo director Gustavo Pronotto says Arturo only suffers the typical ailments of old age, which would make relocation too risky.

He asks that fans of Arturo "stop bothering the bear."

Statement from AssiniboinePark Conservancy

The following statement was released by the APC last week

"With many recent media reports and aninflux of social media and community interest regarding Arturo, a polar bearresiding at theMendoza Zoo in Argentina, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy (APC) is issuing the following
points of clarification regarding this story.

This information is intended to clarify any errorscurrently being reported and APC will not be offering further interviews atthis time.

• First and foremost, as a zoological and conservation organization, APC is of courseconcerned for thewell-being of any animal that may be in distress, including Arturo.
• The Assiniboine Park Zoo began communicating with the Government of MendozaProvince in 2013 aboutArturo and whether transferring him to another facility would befeasible and in the bears best interests.
• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency requires extensive medical records for the importof any animal intoCanada. These regulations exist for the protection of Canadian wildlifeand agriculture industries and itis not our role or position to question these regulationsas they exist for very important reasons. TheMendoza Zoo is not able to fulfill theserequirements.
• Additionally, the Mendoza Zoo has conducted an assessment of Arturos health and hasconcluded that Arturo is not healthy enough to withstand a lengthy transfer from SouthAmerica to another facility inNorth America. The Government of Mendoza has acceptedthat recommendation and decided thatArturo would remain at the Mendoza Zoo.
• APC was not invited to participate in the assessment of Arturos health, nor have webeen given access tohis health records, so we have no first-hand knowledge of hiscondition.
• When Mendoza informed us of their decision to keep Arturo, we extended an offer ofassistance to helpmake recommendations for possible improvements to his care andliving conditions. Travel plans weremade for the end of March but were cancelled at therequest of Mendoza officials. Mendoza has notinvited us to reschedule. This is astanding offer that has not changed.