U.S. donor funds effort that saves wild animals rescued from “Europe’s worst zoo”
Animals saved from tragic fate
BOSTON, MA - Oct 30, 2018 –FOUR PAWS International, together with the Albanian Ministry of Tourism and Environment, yesterday evacuated 11 neglected wild animals from the Safari Park Zoo in Mbrostar in Fier County, Albania.
Through a relationship with FOUR PAWS’ Boston, Massachusetts office, a supporter, moved by the animals’ conditions, decided to fund the rescue. American businessman, Eric S. Margolis, donated funds for the mission in memory of his mother, Nexhmie Zaimi. Mrs Zaimi was born in Albania and lived recently in the U.S..
Over the weekend, an international team of veterinarians as well as a special command of the Albanian police supervised the rescue mission. FOUR PAWS brought the animals – including three lions and a three-legged bear – temporarily to a zoo in Albania’s capital Tirana. As soon as the animals have recovered, FOUR PAWS will transfer them to species-appropriate sanctuaries.
Due to safety reasons, the owner of Safari Park Zoo was not informed in advance about the confiscation of the wild animals. 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.
First stop: Zoo in Tirana
The top priority was to get the animals to a safe place as quickly as possible, therefore, FOUR PAWS temporarily transferred the three lions, the three-legged bear, the zebra, the fox, the waterbuck, the 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’ rescue list, however, the tortoise could not be found.
The rescue suffered tragic loss
As is common practice in wild animal transfers, the team of veterinarians sedated the zebra and loaded him for transportation 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.
Safari Park Zoo in Fier: “Europe's Worst Zoo”
FOUR PAWS has been investigating the Safari Park Zoo since December 2015. Due to legal regulations, however, it has never been possible to intervene. Photos from inside the Albanian zoo appeared in mid-October 2018 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 "Europe's worst zoo" and "Zoo from Hell".
FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organization for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need, and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organization advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy, and understanding. FOUR PAWS’ sustainable campaigns and projects focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats, and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam, as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.fourpawsusa.org