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Zoo website to beat rogue NGO fund raisings
By Nadia Fazlulhaq
The National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwala and the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage had to launch their own websites as the public were mislead for almost a decade by a number NGOs producing false information and illegally raising funds on their behalf.

“The Pinnawala Orphanage has been a tourist attraction for many years. But we are having a problem of maintaining it due to poor donations and most of the tourists who eagerly visit the orphanage have been misinformed,” said National Zoo and Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage Director Brigadier Hans Perera.

According to Brig. Perera, the situation of the Pinnawala Orphanage is worse than the National Zoo. This was due to false information and deceptive documentaries shown to tourists for fund raising by numerous NGO’s.
He said there were more than ten NGO’s who act as representatives of the Pinnawala Orphanage and collect funds from Western donors while giving inaccurate information through their websites. This has caused confusion among many tourists who visit the Elephant Orphanage.

Authorities hope that after launching these websites, not only locals but tourists world-wide would be aware of the accurate information and suggest improvements to the National Zoo and the Pinnawala Orphanage. The website would also introduce a membership system.

The websites are: The National Zoo:
www.colombozoo.gov.lk
The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage:www.elephantorphanage.lk

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