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To look at the petite Farah Murrani, a 28-year-old Iraqi veterinarian, wartorn Baghdad would be the last place you might picture her caring for animals. But until her recent arrival in the United States to continue her veterinary work, that is exactly were you would have found her.
A circuitous path eventually led her to the North Carolina Zoo in February to train with the zoo’s vetrinary staff for the next six months to a year. Life had been anything but dull for Murrani in Iraq even before the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the arrival of American military forces in 2004. (More)
Our involvement with Baghdad has been of a rather different nature to that with Kabul, where essentially we very much took on the prime organizing role. In the case of Baghdad, we were one of half a dozen agencies that took an interest in the Zoo at a very early stage after U.S. military occupation of the city. The key difference here has been that the U.S. military has taken a strong interest in the Zoo from the start and it was fortunate in having a few well-educated and trained Iraqi staff already working there. Most of the damage done to the Zoo was actually perpetrated by Baghdad residents after the fighting, who ransacked any facility where anything removable including buckets, brushes, wire and padlocks, not to speak of the animals themselves, could be taken.
Fairly early on, indeed within three weeks of the battle for Baghdad ending a South African game ranger- Lawrence Anthony, with experience of animal management in Natal, took over responsibility for helping the Baghdad Zoo along with the U.S. military personnel who had been given responsibility for a number of cultural facilities in the city. Soon after that the International Fund for Animal Welfare also agreed to help, we put out our appeal and then, alongside IFAW, provided the South Africans and the IFAW team seconded to the site with supplementary assistance, helping to pay for animal food, veterinary care, veterinary supplies and some building materials. The IFAW team withdrew after about two months (it was never intended to be a more lengthy stay), but they had by then successfully organized food shipments from Kuwait, done a lot of emergency repair work and settled the place down under, again, the leadership of the South Africans and the local U.S. military commander. Once the immediate emergency had been dealt with, the U.S. military took on a maintenance and reconstruction role, along with local contractors, with the work largely being paid for through the U.S. interim administration.
We have continued to provide funding for a range of animal needs and, in parallel with our more recent activities in Kabul provided training opportunities for their Director, Chief Veterinarian and other staff. That process continues and with the remaining funds that we have available for the Baghdad Zoo, our role will be primarily advisory- arranging training, providing any urgent veterinary supplies, library facilities such as books and printed papers and ensuring that they have access to our network of contacts with specialist expertise throughout the world. Our hope with Baghdad Zoo is to help them become engaged with the regional Zoo community and, again a parallel with the Kabul situation, encourage them to be part of the Middle Eastern Zoo network, with a common language and culture and where there are well-staffed and equipped facilities, examples from which are more appropriate for Baghdad, than designs and regimes from Europe or the U.S. The situation at the Zoo is now stable. They have a good staff and although no major reconstruction has occurred, the animals are certainly in reasonably good facilities for that part of the world and are adequately looked after.
Februrary 2004 Photos from Baghdad
Latest Headline Search (Google)
Groups Unite to Administer Aid to Baghdad Zoo (NC Zoo/AZA)
AZA Members to Help Exotic Animals Found in Baghdad (NC Zoo/AZA)
War Ravages Once-Thriving Baghdad Zoo (Atlanta Journal - Constitution)
Nothing Stops Baghdad Zoo Looters, Except Lions (Reuters/NewsArk)
The Baghdad Zoo Welcomes Visitors (USA Today)
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N.C. Zoo is a member institution of AZA and an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr. Secretary; Michael F. Easley, Governor. A part of the North Carolina Government portal.
The Zoo is closed Christmas day and during severe weather. Call our information line at: 1-800-488-0444.
