SAPPORO, Mar 11 (News On Japan) - North Safari Sapporo, which brands itself as 'Japan's most dangerous zoo,' has announced it will close at the end of September, after operating for two decades despite being in an urban planning control zone where development is restricted.
The zoo has built 156 structures, including animal enclosures, without official permits.
Success Tourism, the company managing the facility, submitted a removal plan to the Sapporo city government in February. However, the plan did not specify what would happen to the more than 500 animals from 150 species housed at the zoo.
On March 10, the zoo announced on its website that it had "decided to close in light of legal issues." The closure will take effect at the end of September, allowing time to secure new homes for the animals.
Source: FNN