(Trinidad Newsday) Retired cricket star Brian Lara yesterday apologised once again for disturbing the animals at the Emperor Valley Zoo last week.
Lara was speaking to members of the media at a charity sale at his home in Port of Spain to raise funds for Joanna Brathwaite, seven, who needs a bone marrow transplant.
On a Facebook post on August 24, the zoo’s officials appealed to Lara, the police, and the Environmental Management Authority to reduce the volume of the music at an event at Lara’s house.
It said, “No prior notice was received for our team to make the necessary arrangements to secure the safety and comfort of all animals.”
Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat personally called one of Lara’s relatives before the music was lowered.
Lara said those at the event were celebrating his niece’s wedding. “I’ve been having events here for the last 15, 20 years since I built the property and we’ve always tried to be very vigilant in what we did. Unfortunately, I don’t know exactly what happened. I was not entirely involved… We will continue trying to play within the law and ensure everyone is safe.”
However, he did not appreciate the “sensationalism” of the issue and some of the things he did. He was incredulous that the situation was in the news for days. “I do understand the environment that I’m in. It was just an unfortunate situation. Hopefully we can all forget it and move on and just live.”
In addition to apologising, he described the incident as unfortunate and promised to be more vigilant in the future.
