By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Even during a rare trip to Korea, the wife of the Paraguayan ambassador was preoccupied with animal protection, as she has been doing in her country.
Celestina Diaz de Valdez was visiting a wild life protection center near the demilitarized zone where injured birds were treated and nurtured.
And she watched the Korean volunteers going about their routines with focus.
Valdez, wife of Paraguayan Ambassador Ceferino Adrian Valdez Peralta, who was on a visit to see her husband, had what she described as an "interesting" tour last week as an extension of her profession - animal protection.
Her daughter Angelica, who was also on a visit from Paraguay and following in her mother's footsteps, was accompanying her The center, consisted of two cement buildings and several green cages with high ceilings, is currently a shelter for nearly 80 injured wild animals, mostly birds, found in the neighborhood.
Funded by the Cheorwon local government, one full-time director and a handful of volunteer vets operate the facility.
"It is interesting to see Koreans's efforts," said Veldez, who also runs a wild animal rescue facility, the Mymbakaaguy Rescue Center, founded in Paraguay in 2004. There are many wild birds and reptiles in her shelter, she said.
Valdez complimented the quality of the facility compared to Paraguay, especially the size of the cages, but the number of injured animals here was shocking. "My country is bigger and less populated," she said, blaming humans for the deaths of wild animals.
Valdez chose wild animal protection as her way of contributing to the world when she studies veterinary medicine at college.
She dedicated herself to protecting wild animals and spent three years in South Africa as a veterinarian.
She conceived of opening a wild animal rescue center after treating pets abandoned by neighbors.
"We got a parrot. It started to talking to us, screaming and calling our dogs," Veldez said, and went on about how much the family adored before releasing it, which took several attempts.
After the first parrot finally left, it was followed by several other animals they had treated, making her home a virtual animal shelter.
In 2006, her shelter became the first government-approved wild animal rescue center.
Valdez advocates the release of all wild animals, except for a few cases of wild animals with permanent injuries, and opposes zoos she says, in order not to harm nature and ecology.