Zoo’s extended closure sparks criticism

The extended closure of the Doha Zoo has raised widespread criticism among  local community members who wonder what will happen to the place, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported.

The zoo, which was closed for development projects almost a year and a half ago, is in a “deteriorating condition now with the spread of construction waste around it,” the report said. The renovation was limited to minor maintenance works and that too employing a very small number of workers, it said.

Qatar residents who used to visit the zoo from time to time are getting increasingly disappointed because of the vagueness over the fate of the development project there. The report quoted them as saying that there had been a lot of talks about “massive” renovation projects there but nothing had materialised. 

“What happened so far is just a number of studies with no real outcomes on the ground,” it said. Further, Arrayah said that most animals remained locked in their cages “which lack proper specifications for the well-being of animals” while other animals were left to wander freely in the open areas.

The main buildings of the zoo cover 120,000sqm in addition to a farmhouse and parking area. The zoo, which hosts around 170 different types of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, used to occupy a prominent place among zoos in the GCC region, Arrayah added.