LAHORE, Sept 27: The public interest and wishes of the people visiting the Bagh-i-Jinnah and the Lahore Zoo frequently would be kept in view while taking the decision in respect of transferring a piece of land to the zoo.

Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Rasool held out this assurance while presiding over a meeting attended by the provincial secretaries for agriculture, forest and law and the Wildlife director-general here on Monday.

The chief secretary was informed that 2.86 million visited the Lahore Zoo every year to watch over 1,300 animals and birds being kept there.

He said additional space was required for the expansion of the zoo in view of continuous increase in the number of visitors and provision of natural habitat to animals and birds. The zoo administration planned to build nocturnal home and special cages for kangaroos, leopards and ostriches and a new pond for the crocodiles.