Bad Idea?

Here's a grim little article about the sad afterlives of animals at the Khan Younus zoo in the Gaza Strip.

Owner Mohammad Awaida said he opened the "South Forest Park" in 2007, only to lose a number of animals during Israel's military offensive against Hamas that began in December 2008. During the three-week offensive, launched in response to rocket attacks on Israel, Awaida said he could not reach the zoo, and many animals died of neglect and starvation.

"The idea to mummify animals started after the Gaza war because a number of animals like the lion, the tiger, monkeys and crocodiles died," he said. "So we asked around and we learned from the web how to start."

Formaldehyde and sawdust provided the basic tools, though Awaida acknowledges he is no expert.

Flies swarm around some of the ten animals that have been embalmed so far. The makeshift cages housing the exhibits — fashioned from fencing salvaged from Jewish colonies that Israel dismantled in 2005 — are littered with empty soda cans and other trash. An emaciated-looking stuffed lion, its coat patchy and mangy, lies on an exhibit cobbled together from crates and shipping pallets. A monkey had missing limbs. A porcupine had a hole in its head.

Read the whole article here: http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestinian-territories/stuffed-animals-join-live-ones-in-gaza-zoo-1.1011591