ANIMAL welfare activists have come to the rescue of a baboon shown in an online video chained and pacing restlessly in a cage in a Bahrain zoo.
Animal Wealth Directorate officials and members of the Bahrain Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) visited Tasneem Zoo in Shakura on Wednesday after the video went viral on social media.
“Along with the responsible government officials we visited the zoo after reading reports of the baboon in chains,” BSPCA president Mahmood Faraj told the GDN.
“The owner was very understanding and agreed to sort out the issue within two weeks.
“The BSPCA suggested that the animal (baboon) be unchained and given a larger cage where it can move freely.”
The video was part of an online petition launched on change.org by visiting Harvard University scholar Colleen Hegarty demanding an improvement in conditions at Bahrain’s zoos, including Al Areen Wildlife Park and Reserve and Arman Zoo in Jasra.
Ms Hegarty is in Bahrain on a grant to study animal rights here, as part of her Master’s in Middle Eastern Studies.
Her petition, ‘Stop Animal Cruelty in Bahrain’s Zoos’, addressed to the municipal and agricultural officials as well as the Supreme Council for Environment (SCE), has been signed by 4,501 people.
The petition said that the lion, brown bear and the raccoons in Al Areen and the baboon, cats and dogs in the other zoos were behaving “unusually” which some experts said could reflect “anxiety”.
“We saw cats and dogs in cages at the zoo and we asked the owner to ensure they are let free to roam,” said Mr Faraj.
“We found the general condition of the zoo to be satisfactory, with other animals and birds in neat cages and enough water supply.
“As far as we know the owner has a permit for the zoo, and, we assume, for the animals too, as he is expected to be following laws while bringing in animals.
“We will be visiting other zoos in the coming days,” he said.
Mr Faraj pointed out that the BSPCA was a charity organisation, monitoring animal welfare in the country.
“We are not regulators; that is the government’s responsibility.”
He said the association denounced the idea of zoos, adding that it was against “caging and chaining” animals.
“We urge people who intend to set up a zoo to check with the Supreme Council for Environment and the Animal Wealth Directorate.
“They need to understand what kind of animals they can legally bring into the country and have in the zoo, especially exotic animals and birds.
“They also need to understand that these animals, which they bring in as baby pets, will soon grow up and become wild and dangerous.
“The (Tasneem) zoo has large crocodiles which were reportedly brought in when they were babies, but as they grow they need bigger facilities which the zoo managers often tend to ignore.
“That said, the BSPCA would like to reiterate that we don’t support the idea of zoos, as we don’t believe in caging and chaining animals.”
The GDN reported earlier this month that the SCE planned to conduct an inspection of Al Areen after Ms Hegarty posted a video and pictures online of birds and animals at the enclosure. An Al Areen spokesman refrained from comment but said anybody was welcome to visit the park to check on the facilities and the condition of the animals.
Representatives of Tasneem Zoo could not be reached for comment.
raji@gdn.com.bh
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