Rafah Zoo in Gaza has been slammed after it de-clawed a young lioness so that children can play with it without being scratched. The 14 months old lion’s claws were clipped off with shears after putting a shroud over its head. It was also tranquillized and had her claws hacked down even further. Shockingly the lion still has a full set of very sharp teeth yet the zoo is allowing children to play with it freely.
#BREAKING 49 animals live in deplorable conditions at the Rafah Zoo in Gaza. A young lioness was brutally declawed using garden shears just so visitors could play with her. We want to bring an end to the suffering of these animals. The 1st negotiations have begun #SaveGazaAnimals pic.twitter.com/n578OjbcFs
— FOUR PAWS USA (@FOURPAWSUSA) February 14, 2019
Mohammed Jumma, who is 53 years old and the park’s owner said he was trying to reduce the lion’s aggressiveness so it can be more friendly to visitors. Animal rights campaigners have blasted de-clawing as cruel as it subjects animals to horrific pain but local vet Fayez al-Haddad said that it wasn’t cruel because the zoo wants to bring smiles to children; ”We want to bring smiles and happiness to children, while increasing the number of visitors to the park, which suffers from high expenses.”
The Four Paws charity say the procedure is horrific and agonizing for the lion; ”For big cats, removing the claws is a particularly vicious procedure which causes long-lasting damage. Natural behavior, such as grabbing food or climbing, is hardly possible without an animal’s claws. Since the amputation was not done in a proper vet clinic, the chance of infection is high.” They explained that removing a lion’s claws is the equivalent to amputating the fingers of a human up to the knuckle. The world was so angry and didn’t hesitate to react;
Shame on Rafah Zoo – declawing is animal cruelty. https://t.co/P2l2fu6Nys
— molly nicolson (@molly_nicolson) February 14, 2019
Rafah Zoo in Gaza just declawed a lioness cub and is planning on declawing another cub!
The zoo needs to know that we are all against this crime!#save_the_lion— StraysofGaza (@straysofgaza) February 6, 2019
We still need your signatures to help this poor lion and all the animals at Rafah zoo!https://t.co/RLcphhXhvB pic.twitter.com/O71SnjTDXG
— StraysofGaza (@straysofgaza) February 14, 2019
Since the opening of the zoo, many animals have already died due to rocket attacks and war battles.