CAIRO: Egyptian animal welfare advocates are claiming victory over a successful campaign to end the solitary confinement of chimps at the Egyptian Zoo in Giza. According to a statement from the Jane Goodall Institute along with a consortium of animal advocates in Egypt led by Dina Zulfikar, three baby chimps, Mish, Bobo and Loza, have been introduced to two adult chimpanzees Ingy and Prince at the zoo after having been separated in isolation for months. Another chimp, Kuku, had been sent into solitary confinement by zoo officials in May 2010 to make space for orangutans as their enclosure had not been completed. It was also to avoid contact with another orangutan, Mouza, who has been in confinement since March 2010 after suffering from a tumor. The group in Egypt, in partnership with an expert from the Jade Goodall Institute, had pressured the government and zoo officials to take seriously the chimps' health, which had seen Mouza isolated in a dimly lit enclosure where “there was no sunlight” for the animal. Chimps, which live in groups and are highly social animals, have reportedly become stressed due to the isolation. Another of the zoo's troubled animals were elephants, who according to a joint statement emailed to Bikyamasr.com by Zulfikar, will get much-needed improvements in their daily lives. Now, zoo officials have agreed to the “bringing [of] one meter of sand in all elephant enclosures, walking them, taking them to bath in the lake, food hung up in a puzzle manner and not put on the floors and from keeper to the elephants trunk.” The groups also reported that the orangutans enclosure will be completely finished sometime this week. Zulfikar and other animal advocates in the country have long pressed the zoo to improve the conditions of animals, which are often held in small containers with little room to walk, stand and have no ability to play or socialize with other animals. A number of protests have been held at the zoo calling for improvements in conditions for the beings. BM
