The animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS will prepare over 30 animals to leave the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad. The zoo had been closed because the animals were kept in horrible conditions.
Two Himalayan brown bears, three wolves, twelve monkeys, one deer and over fourteen rabbits will be relocated to sanctuaries in the region. The poor state in which they were kept have left its mark on the animals.
“We have noticed serious behavioural disorders in all of the animals. They are apathetic and at times aggressive,” veterinarian Amir Khalil from FOUR PAWS said.
The zoo was originally opened in 1978 as a wildlife sanctuary in the Margalla Hills in Islamabad but was later converted into a zoo. The zoo has been owned by the Pakistani capital Islamabad since its establishment.
In the past four years, over two dozen animals have died at Marghazar Zoo, including six lion cubs. The zoo’s inadequate keeping conditions have repeatedly made headlines.
In May, the zoo made international headlines when Pakistan’s high court ordered the relocation of the lonely and mistreated Asian elephant Kaavan. American singer Cher had fought for his freedom.
At the end of July, shocking footage of two lions fighting a fire in their small emerged. Inexperienced animal handlers set the fire in an attempt to force the big cats into transport crates, however, both lions died as a result of smoke inhalation.
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