RIYADH, 28 February 2007 — In spite of the fact that the zoo in Riyadh is home to a wide range of animals, less and less people visit it. For many people, what is meant to be an enjoyable and educational trip is distressing as they see filthy animals kept in miserable conditions, reported Al-Riyadh newspaper.
“It is painful to know that this zoo has changed from being a delightful venue into becoming a horrible and disgusting place,” said Riyadh resident Hind Al-Shaikh. “I used to go to the zoo every now and then, but I don’t go there anymore because of the stench. The animals aren’t cleaned regularly. It seems they aren’t even fed properly,” she added.
“The animals are so underfed that they would probably eat visitors alive if they were let out of their cages,” said Al-Shaikh, who wondered why the municipality was neglecting the zoo, which she says is important to the Saudi tourism sector.
Umm Anusa Esam, an expatriate who has being living in Riyadh for eight years, says she absolutely adores taking her children to zoos. “I think it is a wonderful learning opportunity for young children. They can see real animals up close. They are also able to gain more information about animals from the information signs posted next to cages,” she said.
Umm Anusa, however, said she no longer takes her children to the zoo in Riyadh because of the miserable conditions in which animals live there. “Many animals are seemingly never fed. They wait until visitors feed them. There is such a bad smell in the zoo and the food sold at the zoo is unclean and may even cause food poisoning. The conditions in the zoo seem to get worse year after year,” she added.
The zoo in Riyadh is the biggest in the Kingdom and contains the largest variety of animals.
Abud Al-Fakeeh, a Saudi living in Jeddah, said: “When I used to visit Riyadh I used to make a point of visiting the zoo with my daughters. The last time we visited, the zoo was very dirty. The animals are suffering from bad health and the municipality needs to take some sort of action quickly. I feel sorry for those animals.”
Abeer Abdullah Al-Wajeeh said there are many people in Riyadh who know nothing about the zoo there.
“Private schools must take children on visits to the zoo instead of taking them to restaurants and other entertainment areas. I think it is terrible that the animals are in such a bad condition. The company that is in charge needs to get its act together. I think they are only bothered about making money and making profit through the food sold to visitors,” she said.
Muna Al-Watain said that she hasn’t visited the zoo for 10 years now. “Many of my friends told me that it is in a bad state and that the security guards confiscate cell phones that have cameras on them. Boys over the age of 12 are also prevented from entering,” she said.
Usman Abdullah complained about the timings for male visitors. “The only day I can visit together with my family is on Friday. I work six days a week. But even then I can’t visit the zoo because only females are allowed in. I prefer to go to a place were I can go with my family,” he said, adding that he finds the stench unbearable.
Muhammad Al-Raki says he really wanted to visit the zoo when he first came to Riyadh. But his friends did not approve and told him about the miserable condition there. “I just hope someone does something quick about it,” he said.
