By Associated Press - Friday, October 2, 2020

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a permanent license for a zoo in Mississippi’s capital city.

The department did a virtual walkthrough of the Jackson Zoological Park last week and issued the facility a permanent exhibitor’s license, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told news outlets.

The park reopened to the public on a temporary exhibitor’s permit in August with coronavirus capacity restrictions and other measures in place. It was closed for nearly a year to allow for extensive repairs and to secure the federal license to exhibit animals, the Clarion-Ledger has reported.

Receiving the license was among the final steps necessary before the Dubai-based firm ZoOceanarium Group could take over management of the park, WLBT-TV said.

The group, which planned to bring in an African lion and a second giraffe, had held off on signing the contract until the zoo had its permanent license, according to the news outlet.

Lumumba said his team was meeting with ZoOceanarium officials this week but he was not sure when the contract would be signed.

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