CAIRO: Egypt's Giza Zoo security forcibly removed two female activists on Saturday when they attempted to bring to attention what they said was the “appalling” situation facing Moza, a chimpanzee who has been in isolation for nearly five months. The chimp had a malignant tumor removed on July 11, after leading Egyptian animal activist Dina Zulfikar began putting pressure on the zoo in April. Visitors to the Giza Zoo are met with a wooden board covering the small cage that Moza currently calls home. This, Zulfikar says, is “cruel” and has repeatedly demanded the zoo's management answer her inquiries as to why the animal is not given suitable living conditions. The zoo told the activists on Sunday that they “are doing everything they can with the resources we have.” According to zoo officials, who spoke to Bikya Masr on Sunday evening, “we are in need of assistance, in terms of extra cages and support to give us the ability to treat our animals as best we can.” When Zulfikar and American colleague Heidi Morrison arrived at the zoo on Saturday afternoon, they showed passersby signs that called for an end to animal cruelty and demanded the zoo uphold international zoo standards for the treatment of animals. Security would have none of it, forcibly grabbing the wooden sign they had carried. The zoo security also attempted to confiscate the two cameras each woman had with them, but it was not until an unnamed Gulf Arab man intervened that the escalating situation seemed to calm. His two children watched as he stood between the police and the two protesters, demanding that they be allowed to continue their action. Police were reported to have told him “you are not Egyptian and have no say in what we do here.” In the end, Zulfikar, her colleague and a German woman who joined the demonstration later, were forced to leave the zoo, without an explanation for the treatment of Moza. “Why is nobody responding and saying anything about Moza?” Zulfikar asked. According to the activist, they left peacefully after receiving a call from zoo chief Nabil Sidky, who had promised to hold a meeting with them on Sunday morning. The meeting did occur on Sunday afternoon, with Sidky showing them a video of the surgery. He said that the zoo “treats all animals as best we can, but with our current situation and limits, sometimes it just isn't enough.” According to the activists, the zoo has asked for any help that can be provided to be sent. They won't accept monetary donations, but said they are willing to accept new cages for animals. For the activists, it is a discouraging fact for Egypt's largest zoo and animal sanctuary. “They are totally blocking the chimp with the barrier and it should be removed. Blocking doesn't help her recover and allow her to communicate with the outside world,” said Zulfikar. She pointed to previous incidents with other primates at the Giza and Fayoum zoo, where officials said the animals did not “like contact with other animals and zoogoers.” She said that over and over, zoo and sanctuary officials across Egypt have told her that she is “escalating” the situation and not “making it easy for a solution to be found.” “We just want to know what the future is going to be for the chimp?” she added. Posting updates on her Facebook group page that highlights animal abuses across Egypt, fellow animal advocates lamented the poor state of affairs in Egypt's zoos and sanctuaries. One person wrote that is was “horrible what they are doing to Moza.” Others continued to ask “what is the situation? Is the zoo going to make anything change?” For now it seems life will continue to be a dark struggle for Moza, a chimp who arrived at the Giza Zoo from the Sharm el-Sheikh Breeding Center after the center said it could not provide adequate facilities and care for the animal. Now, the Giza Zoo, according to Zulfikar, is “not standing by its internationally recognized duties as a care facility for animals.” BM
