Gaza: Zoo owner plans to remove claws of more lions

At the end of January 2019, a young lioness at the Rafah Zoo in the Gaza Strip had her claws brutally removed with garden shears.

Now the zoo owner plans to carry out the painful procedure on two more lions – if necessary without the help of a veterinarian. The brothers of the mutilated lioness are also supposed to play with zoo visitors without injuring them. The international animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS is calling on the responsible authorities to intervene before it is too late. The demands include the closure of the zoo and the relocation of more than 40 suffering animals to safe animal welfare centres in the region. Already over 120’000 people worldwide have signed the FOUR PAWS petition.

The lioness, just 14 months old, has been permanently mutilated by the brutal and amateurishly performed procedure. A similar fate now awaits her two siblings. The owner of the Rafah Zoo has announced that he intends to have the claws of all young lions removed. In a recently published video, he explains that – if no veterinarian is available – he will perform the operation himself. The zoo owner also claims to have amputated the leg of an injured fox using a circular saw.

The zoo owner’s most recent statements are more than alarming. It is clear that there is absolutely no understanding of species-appropriate keeping or animal welfare here. His past and planned procedures are nothing short of cruel mutilations that the animals will suffer from for the rest of their lives. We call on the authorities to take action before even more animals are subjected to some form of agonising torture. We are ready at any time for a rescue mission, should the zoo owner and the authorities in Gaza agree to permanently close the zoo.

FOUR PAWS veterinarian Dr. Amir Khalil

Over 120’000 supporters call for closure of Rafah Zoo

To save all the animals at the Rafah Zoo, FOUR PAWS has launched a petition that has already been signed by over 120’000 people worldwide. Together with FOUR PAWS, they are calling for the permanent closure of the notorious zoo, which has regularly made horrific headlines since the beginning of the year. In mid-January, four lion cubs froze to death there, and just a few weeks later, shocking footage of a mutilated lioness emerged. The poor living conditions, lack of food, and absence of veterinary care have left their mark on all the animals. FOUR PAWS has been monitoring the situation since last year. In early 2018, a team of veterinarians provided the zoo's residents with vaccinations and first aid. More on this topic at Animal Rights.

Over 40 suffering animals in Gaza's oldest zoo

Currently, over 40 animals — including five lions, a hyena, several monkeys, wolves, porcupines, foxes, cats, and dogs — live in cramped and dilapidated cages at Rafah Zoo. Gaza's oldest zoo was opened in 1999 on the Egyptian border. Since then, wild animals have repeatedly been smuggled in and out of Gaza through underground tunnels. Many of the animals have been killed in rocket attacks and armed combat since the zoo opened. Some of them are still displayed as taxidermied specimens at Rafah Zoo.

FOUR PAWS: Numerous missions in Gaza

FOUR PAWS has been active in Gaza since 2014 and has already evacuated and closed two zoos in the region — Al-Bisan Zoo and Khan Younis Zoo. The former zoo residents were transferred to FOUR PAWS' own animal welfare centers. The zoo in Rafah is also no stranger to the international animal welfare organization. In 2015, the zoo owner sold two lion cubs, Max and Mona, to a local resident who gave them to his grandchildren. Photos of the two lions in the middle of a refugee camp made headlines around the world. FOUR PAWS confiscated the animals and brought them to their animal welfare center in Jordan. More articles can be found in the category Wildlife.