Rabat area?

Is it always a zoo in Rabat area? 

A priori not, since instead of the main entrance of our national zoo, there is a site Pharaohs. It is Ryad Al Andalus, group housing project launched Addoha since November 2006 and whose cost is estimated at around 4 billion dirhams. Behind the dust, tractors and cranes, yet there is a parcel of land that is not yet occupied. Of the 50 hectares of the former field, 24 were engulfed by Anas Sefrioui group, pending the opening of a brand new zoo. "The zoo is in a dilapidated state for twenty years. If he was right, we would never have needed to transfer into something that meets international standards, "says El Abdelâadim Hafi, High Commissioner for Water and Forests. He admits: "We have never had a zoo is a zoo where there are cages and penned animals: a catch-all concept without." At first glance, the park still offers a wide variety of animal species. "We have two to three million dirhams budget for food and one million for other costs. This is largely sufficient to maintain the zoo, "said Said Hajib, director of Rabat Zoo. He noted that the charges are low. And because this isolated area of ​​the city does not offer spaces or restaurant or cafeteria or other recreational areas for visitors and employs only 73 people. Since the early work of zoo attendance has grown from 300 000 to 100 000 visitors per year. "People think that the zoo does not exist anymore because of work. They are also discouraged because there is more than ample parking and access by train was closed, "said Hajib.

Noise. What the story does not say is that the 1800 has the zoo animals, "thirty location has changed following the work of Addoha" attests Essalhi Abderrahim, head of the maintenance department animals. Ahmed Tazi, Deputy Secretary General of the Association for the Defence of Animals and Nature (ADAN) believes that many animals are now worse off and that the construction noise can disrupt their reproduction or lead to their death. "The association has tried in vain to make an inquiry in the zoo, but officials were very afraid we discover something," complains Tazi. "A vet told us that the noise could cause death," he adds. Note that several animals, like elephants, are still disturbed by the hustle and bustle nearby. "The hyena, lynx and carnivores were transferred into cages nice, but all those who are in the center of the zoo remained in place," said the master of the house Said Hajib. He defends himself: "At the outset, it is true that there was a lot of noise for a month. But scientifically speaking, we can not prove that animals suffer because of the uproar. The train, which runs every twenty minutes, is much noisier. " Advanced Abdelâadim another loophole by El Hafi: "There is no impact of noise on animals. Moreover, there is not that they are victims, there are a few things that are more sensitive to side: humans. The power lines that cross the boulevard are much more harmful than a jackhammer or a crane. " And how to explain death, a few months ago, three giraffes? "This is an unpredictable death has nothing to do with work. One female died of old age, his offspring could not survive and then the male suicide sadness. There are species that die after 5 years, others after a hundred years ... These are natural deaths, "says Hajib. It is clear that the majority of species appear to fare well, but "some deaths are suspicious," a security guard slides on the sly.

Save the lion of the Atlas. The vet Abderrahim Essalhi prefer to broaden the debate by recalling that the Rabat Zoo has a history dating back to 1973. He participated in the preservation and conservation of many species. "Some would disappear from the earth as the lion of the Atlas. It is thanks to Rabat Zoo that could save him. We even sent specimens of the Atlas lion in other international zoo, Germany, England and the Czech Republic, "says Essalhi" We are known for breeding, we birth Cougars, vultures deer, American bison ... "If this is the case, why seven years of research have not been sufficient to privatize the zoo? Why there he had no buyer? "It was impossible to privatize considering where it is located," retorted

El Hafi goes further: "I have never been aware of any zoo in Morocco. When we speak of a zoo, we must see what it means in the dictionary. If you want to make an amusement park with a cage in which there are three gazelles, it is a choice. " Yet there marked "zoo" on the main entrance door ... "The word zoo is not a trademark on which there may be legal action against users," jokes then the High Commissioner.

Anyway, the 200 species of Rabat Zoo will have to wait until December 2010 before being relocated to a huge area specializing in African wildlife. The idea of ​​such a project comes from Mohammed VI who had fallen under the spell of Singapore Zoo a few years ago. "The current site Addoha stress animals, they are not comfortable. That is why they are building a new home, "said Jawad Benchemsi, director of architectural firm responsible for setting up the new zoo. "I wish that the animals are transferred two to three months before December 2010 so they can acclimate and integrate into their new environment," the architect wants. But not all animals will not necessarily move in this idyllic constructed as ecosystem. While much will be transferred to the new zoo, some will be traded. Too bad for them.