The ‘World’s Worst Zoo’ In Pakistan Finally Closes For Good
- Thomas Nelson
- December 19, 2020
- Animals
- 0 Comments
Following the evacuation of two Himalayan bears to a sanctuary in Jordan, the ‘world’s worst zoo’ in Islamabad, Pakistan has finally closed. The Marghazar Zoo drew fire from people around the world for its confinement of the ‘world’s loneliest elephant.’ The elephant, Kaavan, spent 35 years in a barren zoo enclosure until Cher Bono, the American pop star, paid for a legal team to fight for his release. The last 8 of those years were spent alone.
Kaavan was in extremely poor health after being rescued. He was extremely overweight. Since his rescue, he has lost some weight and begun socializing with other elephants.
“I’m so happy and I am so proud he is here,” Cher told the AFP news agency upon his arrival in Cambodia. “He’s a wonderful, wonderful animal.”
But Kaavan wasn’t the last animal to leave the zoo. Bubloo and Suzie, two Himalayan bears, were the last to leave. The two will now call a sanctuary in Jordan home.
Read: Bald eagles across the US are dying of lead poisoning
The world’s worst zoo closes
“The Islamabad zoo is now completely closed for both public and officials,” Saleem Shaikh, spokesman for Pakistan’s ministry of climate change, told AFP.
The two bears were in poor health at the time of their rescue. Suzie had no teeth and required emergency surgery to remove a dangerous tumor.
The Marghazar Zoo will eventually be turned into a 1,000 acre wildlife conservation center.
The practice of keeping animals in a zoo is an old one, with the oldest known zoo dating back as far as 3500 BC. Not all zoos are as awful as the Marghazar zoo, but there is an increasingly loud call among people around the world to end the practice of keeping animals in zoos.
Read: An Elephant Baby Boom In Kenya Is Welcome News For Conservationists
The end of the zoo?
Damian Aspinall, who runs the Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, UK, has spearheaded a campaign to return captive animals to the world and end zoos and wildlife parks in the UK.
“We have no moral right as a species to let animals suffer just because we are curious about them,” he told the Guardian. Despite his efforts, 30 million visits are made to zoos in the United Kingdom each year. But Aspinall claims that zoos aren’t very good tools for education.
“David Attenborough’s programmes are far more educational than a day trip to a zoo,” he said. But Attenborough himself disagrees.
“There is no way you can appreciate the quiddity of an elephant except by seeing one at close quarters,” he told the Observer in an interview. “People ought to be able to see what an animal looks like. And smells like. And sounds like. I think that is quite important. Actually, very important.”
But Attenborough draws a line with some animals. “I certainly agree with Mr Aspinall in saying you should not have lions in zoos – unless they were becoming endangered in the wild, which, of course is now becoming a real risk.”
No matter where you land on the issue, the world’s worst zoo has closed for good and its surviving occupants are hopefully living out better lives.
Keep reading: Coyote with a jar stuck on its head is rescued
