Belvedere of Tunis: dying in full view
One Voice leads a nonviolent fight to defend animal rights and respect all life forms. The organization operates independently and is thus free to speak and act freely.
The Belvedere Zoological Park in Tunis is very badly named indeed. Unless animal suffering can be considered as a source of contemplation. In this sordid place, the residents are not only captive, but also victims of the worst sort of abominable suffering. Help us save them!
In some zoos, the public throws peanuts at the monkeys. A major problem for primates because peanuts can make them sick. But in the majority of cases, the people who feed them in this way are not intending to cause harm. It is up to the management to inform them correctly and to put an end to these types of practices. In Tunis, however, anything goes! And it’s not just peanuts or pieces of dry bread that one might throw to the animals. The Belvedere Zoo, the largest park in the city, became famous in March 2017 after a group of visitors continually threw stones at a crocodile…!
Open cemetery
This tragedy caused a stir at the time. Even outside of the country’s borders, in addition to this, other scandals things have been uncovered within this establishment, which is in reality akin to a house of death. Thanks to ALVIA, a local association, and the relay of social networks, the world has thus discovered what is happing here. Horrifying things such as, monkeys wasting away in their tiny cages in the basement, wild beasts and Vietnam pigs undernourished and deprived of water despite the heat, a dying bear, unable to move, a lion cub abandoned in a pit untreated and wounded. There are corpses and bones in the enclosures, all is in a mess … Not to mention the general unsanitary conditions, especially pools strewn with rubbish where swans have choked …
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Operation Makeover
Faced with this international outcry, the municipality (who are the management of the zoo) wanted to take matters into their own hands. Following the stoning of the crocodile, they urgently closed the doors of this institution to begin its renovation. Today, green spaces are better maintained and the enclosures look less like landfills. But appearances are deceptive. The zoological park is still sorely lacking in resources and personnel. If the corpses are now better hidden, the animals do not receive any more attention than they did before. The sick and / or depressed are left to a sad fate, when they are not butchered before the eyes of their fellow species or passers-by to “shorten” their suffering if they have not received treatment in time.
Let’s act now!
The ALVIA association continues to fight to denounce these atrocities and save the survivors. She calls us to help to put pressure on the municipality of Tunis and get these suffering beings immediately placed into sanctuaries where they can finally benefit from appropriate care and an environment that meets their needs. Help us to relay their calls by signing the petition.
To strengthen your action, you can also send a letter (a model letter is available here) to:
- Municipality of Tunis:
E-mail: webmaster@commune-tunis.gov.tn
Phone number: +216 71 57 11 98
- Direction of the zoological park whose director is Mahmoud Latiri
E-mail : zootunis@municipalite-tunis.gov.tn
Phone number: +216 71 897716 / +216 897726
- Ministry of Tourism :
E-mail: boc@tourisme.gov.tn
Phone Number: +216 71 341 077
- French Embassy in Tunisia:
E-mail: Mail@consulfrance-tunis.org
Phone Number: +216 31 315 111