Amidst the abundance of worrying news coming out of Afghanistan, we continue to receive many enquiries from people who are understandably very concerned about the situation for the animals at Kabul Zoo.
In August and September of 2021, our trusted contacts from organizations that work in the region began providing us with updates about the zoo as the worrying political situation unfolded.
Kabul Zoo, like many zoos in the region and around the world, has never been free of animal welfare concerns, and animal advocacy organizations have long worked alongside zoo officials to try to address these. However, thankfully and perhaps surprisingly, the events of 2021 did not and as yet still have not had a substantial impact on the operation of or conditions at the zoo, despite the appearance of a number of out-of-context and sensationalist news items suggesting disaster.
We last provided an update on 29 September, and because there have been no major changes to report, we have remained quiet since. Our contact at Mayhew has confirmed that firearms are now banned at the zoo, and the situation remains stable. Most supplies are still available.
We will continue to update this page whenever there are significant changes or if we become aware of new ways to help.
The photos below were taken recently and have been provided by the Mayhew.