Wildlife on the verge of rescue from ‘Europe’s worst zoo’
The footage showed the appalling keeping conditions of the animals — including lion Lenci, who is suffering from a severe eye infection, and the three-legged bear Dushi.
After several days of negotiations, the rescue of the animals from the Safari Park Zoo in Fier, Albania, has finally received the green light. The Albanian Ministry of Tourism and the Environment, supported by the international animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS, will begin the evacuation of the twelve neglected zoo animals in the coming days.
A FOUR PAWS team is supporting the rescue mission and is already working at full speed on site to build the transport cages.
Since the animals are in poor condition, we are working closely with the Albanian Ministry of Tourism and the Environment to prepare the rescue mission meticulously. This mission is extremely delicate and we hope to get all the animals out of this dreadful zoo safe and sound.
Ioana Dungler, Head of Wildlife at FOUR PAWS
The animals of the ‘zoo from hell’
A total of twelve wild animals are on the rescue list: three lions, a three-legged bear, a zebra, a fox, a waterbuck, a tortoise, a red deer and three fallow deer.
“After years of suffering, the zoo animals from Fier deserve a peaceful life in a species-appropriate home,” said Dungler.
Safari Park Zoo in Fier: ‘Europe’s worst zoo’
Since December 2015, FOUR PAWS has investigated the zoo on several occasions. Photos from inside the Albanian zoo surfaced in mid-October 2018 and triggered an outcry both at home and abroad. International media dubbed the Safari Park Zoo “Europe’s worst zoo” and the “zoo from hell.”
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