Speak up for the lions at the Taiz zoo!

These once majestic lions has now been reduced to just skin and bones. They are simply heartbroken and have lost hope of living a decent life in their natural environment.

This is the Taiz Zoo in Yemen. Hundreds of animals have been trapped in this zoo after owners abandoned the facility, due to the ongoing conflict that has hit the area for the past couple of years. People took their belongings and fled the scene as quickly as possible. But the animals have been left behind and are still there!

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In the middle of intense air raids and ground operations that include tank surveillance, a small group of caring volunteers put their lives in danger to go to the abandoned zoo and care for the animals.

25-year-old Bassam Al-Hakimi used to own an internet café in the area, but his property was destroyed. He is now helping two women – Chantal Jonkergouw, a Dutch banking executive – and Victoria Johner y Cruz – a respected lawyer from Geneva – feed the animals. There are currently 266 animals at the zoo, including 19 lions and 26 leopards, all in extremely poor conditions. They are in desperate need of rescue. 12 lions and six leopards have already perished to due the lack of food and water. Besides the majestic lions and Arabian leopards, the zoo also houses monkeys, deer, horses and birds.

With the help of the Tamdeen Youth Foundation, these heroes have been able to raise over $90, 000 in donations.

We are right in the middle of two fighting zones. We cross the line every day to help these animals, because I’m human and I cannot see these creatures suffer like this without taking any actions. I feel this is our duty as human beings – Jonkergouw stated.

The minimum figure needed to cover the animals’ food and medical treatment is  $3, 300 each week, which is about $471 per day.

Please take action to ensure that the plight of these animals will end as soon as possible. These animals do not care about politics and regional conflicts. They must be kept out of this.

We, the undersigned, are urging animal rights organizations such as PETA and the Humane Society International to get involved and help rescue these helpless animals urgently.