Ever since I heard about a zoo called "Hadiqa Abu Jarrah" in Riyadh where animals are horribly mistreated, it has deeply disturbed me. When I finally got the chance to go check the place out it became apparent the zoo was much worse than I had imagined. I've actually never seen animals being treated so badly in my life - keeping in mind I've lived in the most rural parts of Africa and never saw anything pertaining to treatment of animals that was comparable to this misery. And here we are in Saudi Arabia, one of the richest countries in the world, a land where people are supposed to uphold Islamic teachings.

 

 

The entrance to the zoo shows pictures of the owner, named Abu Jarrah, posing next to these animals. From the images, we get the impression the animals are there just to show them off. The rest of the time, they are forgotten and maintained by a single zookeeper, who my friends and I talked to.

 

 

We learned that he man pictured owns these animals and apparently, a few years back, he decided to set up this zoo and the animals were brought there and placed into the small torture cells for people to come look at for a fee of 20 riyal [including the entrance fee to the park, zoo visitors pay a total of 60 riyal, which is about 12 euros]. Previously, the animals had been on the man’s farm. There was no information about where or how he had gotten most of these animals, but there is clear indication most must have been brought into the country illegally.

 

 

The man has had this grizzly bear for 10 years. We were told it was smuggled in as a baby from the U.S. (…) Saudi Arabia does not have animal protection laws and the law banning trafficking of endangered animals is clearly not enforced whatsoever, which can be seen by going into any pet shop in the kingdom.

 

The bear has never been out of his prison, if you don't count the photo sessions with Abu Jarrah. The zookeeper was too afraid to even think of opening its cage for fear of his life. Grizzlies, like all bears, need to roam around extensively, have social contacts and hibernate. I doubt this bear ever had the chance to have any of those things.

 

 

The man working there told us he had in the past let some of the lions out to an area in the back of the zoo. I pleaded him to let them out while we were there and to show us this place. He told me absolutely not, that he once had a female reporter visit and the lion had tried to attack her, wounding her badly. The zookeeper said getting the lion back inside the cage is almost impossible. Wonder why?

 

 

This zoo of horrors has been haunting me. I contacted a Facebook group I knew that rallies for animal rights in the Kingdom. Er7amni Animal Rights Group has been working to help these animals. Some letters were sent out to the Ministry of Agriculture. We have been waiting for results but it seems there has been no change and that the animals still remain in their misery.