Zebra's Death Highlights Endemic Malpractice in Iran's Private Zoos

Last week, three African zebras were brought from the Netherlands to Safadasht Zoo from the Netherlands so the species could be bred in Iran. Within days, one of them had died.

Safadasht Zoo reported the incident on May 5, 2021 and in a statement, said the cause of death had been “mismanagement” by customs officials in Bazargan. "An investigation by the zoo's veterinary team revealed the cause of death was excessive stress and internal infection during the transfer, and unreasonable delays at Bazargan," it added.

A horrifying video of the incident also circulated on social media, which was first posted by environmental activist Kaveh Madani. It showed one of the animals trapped in a narrow water canal, seemingly with a broken leg and unable to climb out. The officers in charge were filmed beating the animal rather than trying to help it get free.

This is not the first time that animals procured by Iranian zoos have died on arrival or shortly afterwards. In November 2018, 10 zebras were killed while being transferred from Semnan province to Kavir National Park in Gamsar, southeast of Tehran. IranWire spoke to an animal rights activist in the country about this pattern and how it might be fixed.

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In the video of customs officials’ treatment of the three African zebras, it is evident that not one of them is trained in handling animals. In fact, they appear to be scared of the creatures, and try to force them into line using a whip.

Saeed, an animal rights activist based in Iran, is exasperated as well as saddened: “Why do these things happen again and again?”

In his view, the incident is just the tip of the iceberg - one the Iranian Department of Environment is to blame. It is this body that issues the permits for the construction of zoos, the import of wild animals, and their care, without the correct protocols in place. "There is no structure for the zoos. No zoo in Iran adheres to the expected standards for keeping animals, in terms of space, food or care. All of this ought to be done by trained people.

“Many people who are involved in or support the animal trade try to pretend that the zoos are valuable for biological research. But the reality is that Iranian zoos are sites of torture – sometimes slaughterhouses."

The Troubled History of Safadasht Zoo

In response to outcry over the zebra’s death, the founder and owner of Safadasht Zoo issued a series of oddly-worded public responses in which he effectively told his critics that he had paid for the animals privately and as such, they had no right to complain.

He also hit back against critics of animal importation, claiming these campaigns were destroying Iran’s biodiversity.

Saeed, who spoke to IranWire on the condition that his real name not be used, said the owner of Safadasht Zoo had good reason to react in this manner. “The owner of this zoo formerly had a private yard. A wildlife smuggler brought a female tiger [to Iran] from Spain and ‘sold’ it to several people at the same time, then ran away.

“The owner, with the collaboration of vets and conservationists, managed to house the tiger in his personal yard. He then bought a female lion cub from someone else and kept them there too. Little by little, the neighbors began to complain out of fear.

“On hearing about this learning this, he bought the site of Safadasht Zoo in Malard County and got hold of a permit to build a private zoo from the Department of Environment. Since then, he has been working with one or two well-known figures known to be involved in smuggling."

This long-time zoologist said the fate of Safadasht Zoo had been a "full-blown tragedy": "Among animal rights activists, the zoo is termed an 'animal warehouse'. The animal is treated as a commodity whose sole purpose is profitability. No goals for it have been set by the Department of Environment. It's just fun and profitability, and that's it. The conditions are deplorable.”

A Good Zoo is a Closed Zoo

In Iran, Saeed says, zoos are still viewed primarily as economic enterprises. “Conservation is a science, and is not taught on practically any veterinary medicine or zoology course in Iran. As a result, no specialization or skills training is provided for animal importers and zoo owners.

“This is not the first time an animal has perished at Safadasht Zoo. The giraffe it brought in earlier was lost, and a herd of Iranian deer were relocated and died. It has happened again because there are no written laws or guidelines on quality control and performance monitoring. The owner assumes that because he paid the money and imported the animal, his loss has nothing to do with anyone else either."

Time and again, Iranian animal rights activists have had to fight against this mentality without the backing of the state. One recent clash involved the use of giraffes and tiger cubs in Dracula, a TV series by famed Iranian satirist Mehran Modi.

Critics argued that there was no reason for these rare and exotic animals to have featured in the series, no information was given as to their provenance, and one tiger cub’s pronounced limp raised concerns about the lack of regulation of animal treatment in Iran.

These activists also often point out the marked difference between the treatment of wild animals in Iran and in other developed nations. “We have legal trafficking in Iran,” Saeed says. “The Department of Environment gives people permission to import these animals.

“By contrast, the vision and goal of wild animal husbandry should be culture, education, science and wildlife conservation. The first thing the European Zoo Association requires from a member is to present their vision. There is no such prerequisite in Iran at all. Anyone who likes to keep wild animals can set up a zoo, and if it happens to make money, so much the better.”

Related coverage:

Violence Against Animal Rights Activists in Tehran

Iran's War Against Dogs — and the Activists who Refuse to Give up

The Truth Under the Lion’s Fur: Tehran Zoo’s Big Scandal

Horror at Boumehen Animal Shelter