http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/12/12202001/s_45924.asp
                                      
   Fundraising effort tops $130,000 for Kabul Zoo
   
   Thursday, December 20, 2001
   
   By Environmental News Network
   
                        Female lion in the Kabul Zoo
                                      
   Female lion in the Kabul Zoo
   
   Contributions are pouring in from across the United States to the
   office of the North Carolina Zoological Society in response to an
   appeal for funds to help the zoo animals trapped by war in the Afghan
   capital city of Kabul.
   
   "It has exceeded our wildest expectations," said Dr. David Jones,
   director of the North Carolina Zoo, announcing that a fundraising
   effort for Afghanistan's Kabul Zoo had drawn nearly $130,000 and
   generated thousands of calls to his zoo and others across the United
   States and Canada.
   
   Jones had been asked to spearhead a drive for funds on behalf of the
   American Zoo and Aquarium Association and its 201 accredited
   institutions to help the Kabul Zoo. Kabul Zoo animals are reported to
   be hungry, in need of veterinary care, and suffering public abuse. Zoo
   staff members have gone for months without pay.
   
   Although details of the situation at the Kabul Zoo remain sketchy due
   to ongoing fighting, local reports indicate there are about 40 animals
   remaining in the Kabul Zoo, including a lion, a black bear, two
   wolves, one or two gazelles, five monkeys, and about 10 birds and some
   rabbits.
   
   The zoo staff has remained on site throughout the recent difficult
   weeks despite having received no pay since the Taliban fled the city
   in response to U.S. bombing raids.
   
   Jones said that the current poor physical condition of the animals and
   the zoo structures did not result from the recent military activities.
   Injuries to the male lion, reported in several media accounts,
   occurred at least six years ago, and those to the bear are at least a
   year old. No major injuries to other zoo animals have been reported
   recently.
   
   Jones said damage to the zoo site is the result of fighting over the
   previous 10 years. Many of the walls and roofs of the zoo buildings
   have collapsed, and there is no electricity or reliable water
   supplies.
   
   When the project, originally targeted at only $30,000, exceeded the
   $100,000 mark earlier this month, zoo officials decided no additional
   contributions for the Kabul Zoo were needed. They established a second
   fund to provide assistance to the thousands of dogs, cats, horses, and
   other domestic animals in Afghanistan who will need treatment once the
   war has subsided and a stable government has been established.
   
   "It is important to remember that what we are seeing at the Kabul Zoo
   is only the symptom of a much larger animal welfare problem throughout
   Afghanistan," Jones said. "Many Afghans are very dependent on their
   domestic animals. We are working in close cooperation with The Brooke
   Hospital and World Society for the Protection of Animals so that any
   further support is directed to their attention."
   
   Funds raised in the United States for the Kabul Zoo will be added to
   monies collected by zoos in Europe and Australia. In addition to
   Jones, the international coordinators for the project have included:
   Mary Talbot Rosevear, director of the National Federation of Zoos in
   the United Kingdom; Professor Gunther Nogge, director of the Cologne
   Zoo in Germany; and Dr. Peter Dollinger, director of the World Zoo and
   Aquarium Association based in Switzerland.
   
   This team has maintained regular contact over the past week with the
   U.S. State Department as well as with the British and German
   governments. The zoo group is also working in close cooperation with
   the London office of the World Society for the Protection of Animals
   (WSPA).
   
   With the assistance of the London newspaper The Mail on Sunday, WSPA
   was able to deliver US$3,000 to the Kabul Zoo director about 10 days
   ago. That money is being used for immediate needs, including animal
   food, some basic equipment, and ensuring that the zoo staff is paid.
   
   An additional $5,000 from the funds collected by the zoo consortium
   will be delivered through that same connection within the next week.
   According to Jones, this should provide the Kabul Zoo with sufficient
   resources to keep going over the Christmas and New Year period.
   
   "The international zoo coordinating team, through its many contacts,
   will be looking for the first opportunity to put in a small expert
   team, which will provide immediate help to the zoo staff and assess
   the zoo's short- to medium-term needs," Jones said.
   
   There will be three stages to the operation. First, the emergency
   stage will provide food and other immediate needs. It is now underway.
   Second, will be assessment of the situation on the ground and
   provision of any specialist animal care, which the Kabul Zoo staff is
   unable to give. Third, is a plan to ensure continuing food supplies
   for the animals, adequate veterinary care, and provision of
   electricity and water.
   
   The third stage is the effort for which most of the funds collected in
   the United States will be used. Buildings which house the animals and
   their keepers will be made wind- and water-proof, and some temporary
   method of heating will be provided.
   
   "It is felt that the funds raised so far are adequate for all these
   purposes," Jones said. "Names and contact numbers of donors continuing
   to contact the North Carolina Zoo Society offices are being recorded
   in case there is further need for assistance. But at the present time,
   everything that possibly can be done is being done for the Kabul Zoo."
   
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