The Forestry Commission says it has adequate stock of food to feed animals at the Kumasi Zoo as it increases storage facilities at the facility.

Deputy Chief Executive of the Commission, John Allotey  says under  no circumstance will any of the animals at the zoo be allowed to go hungry or be deprived of medical treatment, during the period of the lockdown in the Greater Kumasi Area.

This is possible because of the procurement of more refrigeration facilities to store meat, vegetables and other food items needed to feed the animals, Mr. Allotey says.

Established to conserve nature and display indigenous wild animals in Ghana, the Kumasi Zoo sits on a 1.5 square kilometre piece of land.

Besides offering recreation and relaxation for visitors, it is a revenue generator.

The facility recorded about 100,000 visits since the beginning of this year, translating into about GHS250, 000 in revenue in the first quarter of the year.

The Coronavirus outbreak, however, has compelled officials to close the facility to visitors.

Mr. Allotey, who made a brief stop at the zoo on Thursday  says the additional storage capacity at the zoo will forestall any challenges with food and medication for the animals.

According to him, the commission has done enough to protect animals at the various zoos, including the Kumasi Zoological Gardens by providing the animals with adequate feeding, appropriate medication and the right environment.

"They need to get adequate feeding; they need to get the right medication, they need to be under the right environment even whilst we are under this lockdown period," he explained.

"The problem is that the market is not operating fully; the abattoir is not having a lot of cattle coming in because the northern border is closed. What we are doing is that we've increased the [number of] freezers we are having so that we could stock more," he added.

He revealed that the commission has suspended operations of the eco-tourism centres across the country in order to protect animals and patrons from Covid-19.

"We don't want to put people who come to our eco-tourism areas in harm's way so what we have done is that Mole National Park has closed down; Kakum National Park has closed down and then the Kumasi Zoo and other places where we think we would have the numbers that are likely to adversely impact on the people so far as Covid-19 is concerned," he said.

Prior to the lockdown, the commission was undertaking the construction of concrete retaining walls to replace old ones  at the Kumasi Zoo to provide  adequate security for animals and workers at the  facility.