Neglected animals rescued from zoo
‘Dirty little concrete enclosures with desolate creatures‘
INTERNATIONAL animal welfare organisation Four Paws said 11 neglected wild animals were evacuated from the Safari Park Zoo in Mbrostar in Fier County, Albania.
The rescue was undertaken with the Albanian Ministry of Tourism and Environment yesterday.
The organisation said an international team of vets as well as a special command of the Albanian police supervised the mission.
The animals – including three lions and a three-legged bear – were temporarily moved to a zoo in Albania’s capital Tirana, said Four Paws.
They will be transferred to species-appropriate sanctuaries as soon as the animals have recovered, said Four Paws.The organisation said the owner of Safari Park Zoo was not informed in advance about the confiscation of the wild animals due to safety reasons.
In a dramatic turn of events, the police had to break the entrance gate to give the almost 20-person Four Paws rescue team access to the zoo.
Vet Marc Gölkel, who was part of the Four Paws rescue team, said: “What we saw was shocking: dirty little concrete enclosures with desolate animals inside.
“The animals are all in bad condition. Lenci the lion suffers from a proliferation on the conjunctiva of his left eye that needs to be treated.
“The three-legged female bear Dushi is very emaciated and has clear behavioural disorders.”
Four Paws director of the Wild Animals Department Ioana Dungler said: “We are glad that we got these animals out of this rundown prison. A big thank you goes to the Albanian government that made this mission possible.”
Four Paws temporarily transferred the three lions, three-legged bear, zebra, fox, water buck, red deer and the three fallow deer to the zoo in Tirana where new enclosures for the rescued animals were built.
Originally, 12 wild animals were on Four Paws’s rescue list; however, the tortoise could not be found.
“We know that the conditions at Tirana Zoo are not ideal for the rescued animals, but it was the safest option. We are currently working on more species-appropriate solutions.
“The three lions will probably come to our big cat centre Felida in the Netherlands. There we specialise in the rehabilitation of particularly difficult cases.
“It is likely that we will transfer bear Dushi to our bear sanctuary Müritz in Germany”, said Dungler.
The team of vets sedated the zebra and loaded him into the horse trailer. During the transfer he was fully conscious; however shortly after being released into an enclosure at Tirana Zoo, the zebra died unexpectedly.
“There is always a residual risk with anaesthesia – especially if the animals come from poor keeping conditions. The anaesthesia and the two-hour transfer were obviously too much for the weakened zebra.
“We are all sad that we could not help this poor animal more,” said Gölkel.
Four Paws has been investigating the Safari Park Zoo since December 2015. Due to legal regulations, it has not been possible to intervene.
Photos from inside the Albanian zoo appeared this month and led to an outcry at home and abroad after the images showed the terrible living conditions of the animals. International media called the Safari Park Zoo.
“As a species, we have not only a responsibility but a duty to look after the animals that we share this planet with. Through Four Paws, I believe that we are making a difference in the lives of animals that would otherwise have been forgotten,” said Fiona Miles, country director of Four Paws, South Africa.