Loro Parque, the world’s best zoo according to TripAdvisor, continues to strengthen its commitment to sustainability thanks to the advances it has made in its organic farming, which supplies food for its animals and even its restaurants. This year, its farms have been registered with the Instituto Canario de Calidad Agroalimentaria (ICCA) – Canarian Institute of Food Agriculture – which guarantees the safety, reliability and quality of all its products.
The novel tropical crops that the Parque has recently introduced to its farms, such as lychee, longan, red and green atemoya, custard apple, soursop and tree tomatoes, are used to make juices for customers and can also be included in the diet of some animals. These new species bring even more balance to the rich and varied diet of Loro Parque’s animals, which also enjoy fruit such as different varieties of mango from different continents, star fruit and papaya.
All the products from the farms of the Portuense Zoo are treated biologically and ecologically, and recently, predatory insects that are beneficial to the plantations have been used to combat other harmful insects without causing any damage to the crops. In the case of banana plantations, for example, pheromone traps have been set and bugs have been released to eliminate red spider mites.
In addition, we have continued to look after our vegetable cultivation, trying to recover the old Canary potato strains for the Parque’s restaurants and introducing other vegetables such as peppers, with the aim of having them available all year round and thus be able to offer them to animals and customers. Like the other plantations, their treatment is totally ecological and no insecticides are used that could leave any kind of residue. As reinforcement, sulphur-based products which are environmentally friendly are used to increase pollination.
