Gaza zoo obliged for sale amid blockade-inflicted recession

Mohammad Joma'a, a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip, found himself obliged to abandon a zoo project he started 18 years ago since he no longer can afford feeding the animals.

The zoo, a home to lions, monkeys, ostriches, hyenas and deer, was the first of its kind in Gaza and the second in the Palestinian territories.

However, last week, the 54-year-old father of five, decided to sell his zoo in Rafah town in the southern tip of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, because he can't afford the necessities of living for 60 kinds of animals and birds in the zoo, which used to be a vent for the populations of southern Gaza Strip.

Joma'a complained that ten years of Israeli blockade, which is still imposed on the impoverished coastal enclave, and an economy recession that territory's populations are passing through, were the main reasons for him to make this decision.

In recent years, the number of visitors to the park has been declining dramatically.

He recalled the early years when the zoo was inaugurated, where hundreds of visitors came to enjoy their time at the zoo.

He told Xinhua that "visitors barely come to the zoo due to their difficult living conditions caused by the Israeli blockade. I pledged to the Austrian FOUR PAWS group, which rescued animals in Gaza in many occasions, to save these animals because I really cannot afford feeding them."

Food for Jom'a's animals and birds costs him some 250 dollars per day.

In the Gaza Strip, there had been six zoos; five of them shut down because of financial difficulties. Now, Joma'a's zoo is the only remaining park in the seaside strip.

Zoos, parks and the beach are considered the amusement places in the Gaza Strip that its borders and the crossing points are sealed by Israel and Egypt.

The two-million-population can barely travel through these crossing points for entertainment since the embargo was laced back in 2007.

The living situation in the Gaza Strip has been deteriorating since Hamas militias' violent takeover of the enclave in 2007, following weeks of internal street fighting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' security forces and his Fatah Party.

In addition to the blockade, Israeli army has waged three large-scale military operations on Gaza since 2008, leaving thousands of people dead. Many animals and birds were killed during these offensives too.

Joma'a's zoo lost 60,000 U.S. dollars during the 2014 war which lasted for 50 days. Many rare genres of birds and animals were killed and large part of the zoo was razed by the Israeli army tanks and bulldozers.

Joma'a estimated that his total loss reached 100,000 dollars, and complained that no one had so far compensated him for his losses.

Lack of money and care, in addition to the frequent military conflicts in the enclave, resulted in the death of many animals and birds.

At yard of the park, mummified bodies of dead animals were displayed for visitors.

According to Joma'a, these animals died of hunger and careless. "We are not able to feed and care for them. Because we love the animals like friends or family members, we decided to mummify their bodies and keep them at the zoo."

He urged the FOUR PAWS organization to move the animals and birds out of the Gaza Strip, or adopt his zoo and cover its running cost in order to keep it open.

In recent years, the FOUR PAWS carried out a number of relief operations to provide medical treatment and food to animals in Gaza Zoos.

Last year, a rescue mission from the organization transferred 15 animals from a zoo in Gaza to new homes in Jordan and South Africa.

It is not always possible to move animals out of Gaza, but the organization is doing their best to achieve positive solutions for the animals.

The organization estimates that Gaza is home to hundreds of wild and non-wild animals that have been smuggled into the enclave over the past nine years.

source: Xinhua