Environmental bloggers are angry and concerned about the killing of 14 lions in Tehran Zoo. Iranian media reported [1] that the lions were put down because they were diagnosed with an infectious bacterial disease, glanders [2], which is more commonly found in horses, donkeys, and mules. Two weeks earlier, a Siberian tiger sent [3] to the Tehran Zoo as part of an exchange program with Russia died after being fed contaminated meat.
Houman, a veterinary doctor writes [4] [fa] in his blog, Troubles of a veterinary:
We no longer hear the groaning of lions… Yesterday they killed 9 lions. Just like that. Because of their sickness. Because they ate infected donkey's meat. A sickness that could have been cured… It was about two weeks ago that we took a blood test… I am really sad. Time to move, and leave here.
Varteh writes [5] [fa]:
It is very sad to see a lion in cage. The Lion knows its humiliation… It died like a soldier… Previously in this damn zoo, I saw another terrible scene. Domestic dogs in a cage waiting for a hand to caress them. You can just imagine these dogs on a couch, not on the cold ground…
Kelk, another Iranian blogger, with irony says [6], that it seems these lions were accused of hostility against the regime and were executed.
United4Iran writes that there is mismanagement in Tehran Zoo and recalls [7] that a few days after the death of the Siberian tiger, 14 lions were killed.
Mojgan Jamshidi, a blogger and journalist, writes [8] [fa] that importing the Siberian tiger was just a gesture of propaganda for the Iranian authorities, and that from the first step everything was done wrong, and they did not get any appropriate care.