Egypt zoo overhaul plan raises animal welfare fears

A delighted Egyptian miss tosses a fistful of food to the bare oversea lions aft her begetter discreetly hands a fewer coins to a keeper astatine Giza Zoo.

Nearby, visitors tin besides provender saccharine potatoes to a camel oregon hay to zebra, oregon get keepers to prod a caged lion for a selfie.

The historical zoo was the archetypal successful the portion and was erstwhile a awesome of Egypt's modernity. But its practices - which experts accidental are rooted successful the 1950s - and its premises are severely successful request of an update.

Still, a caller authorities announcement that its doors volition beryllium closed for a twelvemonth to marque improvements has been met with scepticism by the nationalist and carnal payment groups alike.

"My kids emotion the zoo. We travel present connected weekends and holidays," says Ahmed Ibrahim, a begetter of four, sitting connected a tiny rug with his household by the pelican pond.

The mill worker, who is paid conscionable nether $100 (£82) a month, has small wealth to spare for leisure activities and fears the zoo volition present go unaffordable. Like millions of Egyptians, helium has been deed by skyrocketing prices and the latest currency devaluation.

"Right now, the entranceway summons is 5 [Egyptian] pounds ($0.20; £0.16) and the kids spell free. How overmuch volition it beryllium aft the caller development?" Ahmed wonders.

For the renovation, Egypt's ministry of agriculture is handing implicit work for the 80 acres of zoo and gardens to a military-run institution and a United Arab Emirates-based consultancy.

In return, they volition get the close to profits made implicit the adjacent 25-years.

The Egyptian President, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, says the task volition "develop the zoo to beryllium akin to its world-class peers".

He has antecedently complained astir the site, saying it represents "the grade of negligence and shortcomings" successful the country.

Poor conditions - including elephants tethered connected abbreviated chains, a giraffe truthful depressed it killed itself, and monkeys being provoked by children - person drawn antagonistic attraction successful caller years. The zoo has agelong mislaid its rank of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (Waza).

Today, keepers inactive deficiency grooming and are debased paid. Many clasp backmost nutrient for animals until visitors wage for it and volition harass caged creatures to marque them roar oregon execute tricks successful speech for tips.

One of the galore reforms promised is to regenerate the Victorian-style, cell-like cages for lions and bears with open-range spaces.

However, carnal rights advocates are worried. They kick that the plans for the zoo deficiency transparency and bash not prioritise the payment of the animals kept there, which see immoderate endangered species.

"The zoo is excessively tiny to physique open-range spaces," says seasoned activistic Dina Zulfikar. "Officials speech astir the zoo arsenic an amusement centre alternatively than a zoological garden. The existent goals of modern zoos are wholly overlooked."

Ms Zulfikar has antecedently successfully campaigned for improvements astatine the zoo, specified arsenic fans and a cooling strategy for the carnivore exhibit.

Now it is not wide however galore animals volition beryllium kept oregon adjacent however they volition beryllium transferred to caller enclosures.

"Starting operation connected tract portion the animals are inactive successful cages is immoderate benignant of coercion for astir 3,000 animals kept astatine the zoo," says Ms Zulfikar. She believes they should beryllium moved to a caller determination with much spacious enclosures.

Giza Zoo was archetypal opened successful 1891 by past ruler of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, who erstwhile said helium strove to marque his state portion of Europe, arsenic good arsenic Africa.

It had exotic plants and uncommon animals arsenic good arsenic prized architectural features, specified arsenic a mini suspension span by Gustave Eiffel, designed a decennary earlier the operation of his celebrated Eiffel Tower.

Now it is 1 of the fewer greenish areas of greater Cairo, but it is besides invaluable existent property successful an costly neighbourhood, other a luxury edifice and buying promenade and adjacent to the westbound slope of the Nile.

There person agelong been rumours that Egypt's cash-strapped authorities wanted to merchantability the zoo to overseas investors, peculiarly from the UAE.

In the past year, Gulf buyers, including sovereign wealthiness funds, person taken implicit galore Egyptian state-owned assets successful deals worthy billions of US dollars. But the authorities denied these rumours arsenic "baseless".

A fig of caller redevelopments person besides led to the levelling of greenish spaces and trees being uprooted successful favour of gathering cafes and restaurants. That has led immoderate to question whether the situation volition beryllium protected with the modernisation of the zoo.

Egypt's authorities has responded angrily to specified disapproval successful the media, with officials insisting that successful this lawsuit "not a azygous histrion volition beryllium chopped down".

During Egyptian holidays, Giza Zoo has often been seen teeming with truthful galore radical that they tin easy outnumber the animals by 10 times.

But connected a caller day, the well-trodden paths done the zoo were already eerily quiet, with immoderate areas already closed disconnected to visitors.

A despondent zookeeper - who did not springiness his sanction but said helium had worked astatine the tract for 18 years - told the BBC it was not wide whether helium and his colleagues would support their jobs.

"The animals are my friends," helium said. "I volition beryllium truthful bittersweet to not enactment with them again if they determine to laic the unit off."

For generations of Egyptians, Giza Zoo has been seen arsenic a spot of wonders. But progressively it has conjured up horrors too, becoming a salient awesome of faded glory.

While galore person longed for an costly modernisation, the fearfulness is that the caller plans volition place poorer Egyptians and the immense assortment of animals - from large cats to godforsaken rats - successful hopeless request of amended care.