Blessed camel Fr. Regin Tenorio blesses a camel during Animal Day celebration on Saturday at the Zoobic Safari theme park in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Animals inside the safari are always blessed by a priest every year during Animal Day. Jonas Reyes

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Zoobic Safari wildlife theme park held a blessing for the animals that are under their care in line with the World Animal Day Celebration held yesterday.

The blessing was led by Fr. Regin Tenorio from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Morong, Bataan, who gave a short prayer before blessing the animals inside and outside the sanctuary.

According to Zoobic Safari official Beth Alvarez, the mission of the World Animal Day is to raise the status of animals in order to improve the welfare standards of wildlife around the world.

“It’s celebrated in different ways in every country, irrespective of nationality, religion, faith or political ideology. Through increased awareness and education, we can create a world where animals are always recognized as sentient beings and full regard is always paid to their welfare,” Alvarez said, quoting a statement from the World Animal Day organization.

She said that building the celebration of the World Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilizing it into a global force to make the world a better place for all animals.

The theme park has been a staunch advocate of animal welfare, especially to exotic animals that are in need of homes like white tigers that came from sheiks in the middle east, or animals that were rescued from wildlife trafficking.

Animals that were presented at the pavilion were doused with Holy Water included a bearcat, a Burmese python, an owl, a donkey, a baby white tiger and an iguana.

Zoobic Safari has been providing entertainment and education to tourists who flock Subic during peak season.