- Title: IRAQ: WORKERS AT BAGHDAD ZOO RECEIVE FIRST PAYMENT FROM U.S. ADMINISTRATION.
- Date: 5th May 2003
- Summary: (W4) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (MAY 5, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF ZOO 2. VARIOUS TURTLE 3. WORKER CLEANING THE CAGE 4. TIGER PACING INSIDE CAGE 5. U.S. SOLDIER WATCHING TIGER 6. MORE OF U.S. SOLDIERS WATCHING ANIMALS IN CAGES 7. WORKERS LINING UP FOR PAY 8. ZOO WORKER 9. U.S. SOLDIERS TALKING TO WORKERS 10. MILITARY CAR TRANSPORTING WORKER'S WAGES ENTERS ZOO COMPOUND 11. WORKER SIGNING A BOOK BEFORE GETTING PAID 12. WORKER WAITING 13. WORKER RECEIVING MONEY 14. ARMED U.S. SOLDIER GUARDING ZOO STAFF 15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAWRENCE ANTONY, GAME RANGER, SAYING: "It is very important because, you know, you can't save the animals without helping the people. The people when we got here, I didn't know who was hungrier (more hungry), the animals or the people. They've had a terribly difficult time. They've been living in a war situation, the zoo staff here, unable to get to work, and to build a zoo you have to treat it holistically. If you want to help the zoo, you've got to help the zoo, you can't say I'm gonna help a lion and not help the people, so we focused on the people." 16. MORE WORKERS RECEIVING MONEY 17. U.S. SOLDIER WATCHING OVER ZOO WORKERS 18. WORKER COUNTING HIS PAY IN U.S. DOLLARS 19. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED ZOO WORKER, SAYING: "It costs me 1,000 dinars to take four taxis every morning to get to work. (Question: How much will 20 dollars give you?) It will be 40,000 Iraqi dinars. I use 30,000 for taxi service so I will only have 10,000 left. How can I live with that for a month?" 20. CLOSE UP LION'S FACE 21. PAN ACROSS LION ENCLOSURE / ENDS ON LION CUBS Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 20th May 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVA81CX5IV0L7YR08176Y73QH1WV
- Story Text: The US administration for Iraq has given workers at the
Baghdad zoo their first payment in an effort to save the
animals remaining in the compound and maintain the upkeep of
the rundown 1930s buildings.
The Baghdad zoo workers were paid for the first time
by the US administration of Iraq on Monday (May 5).
The zoo was the scene of fierce fighting between US
soldiers and Iraqi gunmen who had hidden inside the compound
during the battle for Baghdad.
Baboons went on the loose, giraffes walked away and
precious exotic birds were stolen whilst others, reliant on a
unique diet, died during the conflict.
Tigers, lions and cheetahs remained in the compound - the
looters too scared to come into close contact with them.
A South African game ranger, Lawrence Antony, and a
Kuwaiti veterinary team arrived at the zoo two weeks earlier
to try and save the animals which had been seriously
neglected, traumatised by the fighting and without access to
water.
Antony said rescuing the animals in the Baghdad zoo goes
hand in hand with ensuring the welfare of staff.
"You can't save the animals without helping the people.
The people when we got here, I didn't know who was hungrier
(more hungry), the animals or the people. They've had a
terribly difficult time. They've been living in a war
situation, the zoo staff here, unable to get to work, and to
build a zoo you have to treat it holistically," he said.
Antony appealed to world organisations for help in saving
the zoo and its few remaining inhabitants and rescued 5 lion
cubs and two ostriches from a palace belonging to one of
Saddam Hussein's sons.
When he arrived at the zoo only three of the employees
were still there, working voluntarily for no pay and caring
for 2 tigers, 3 lions and 3 wild pigs. The zoo compound used
to be home to around 650 animals and staffed by at least 40
people.
Four of the lions were killed by the US forces who
eventually occupied the compound.
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