TUNIS, Tunisia: A Tunisian zoo that closed after a crocodile was stoned to death has reopened, with extra guards and new signs instructing visitors not to throw things at the animals.
The Belvedere Zoo in central Tunis shut its gates in March after a public outcry over the animal’s death.
Images shared on social media showed the dead crocodile’s head beside what appeared to be a bloodied paving slab and another large rock.
The reptile’s death was the latest in a string of scandals at the 50-year-old zoo, which has long been in need of renovation.
Pictures of the site filled with litter caused an outcry on social media last year.
Staff have other complaints.
“Some people, when they see a lion sleeping, want to throw a pebble at it to get it up. We ask them to stop,” said Taoufik Yaacoubi, a guard at the zoo for 20 years. “It’s not normal.”
Zoo visitors often left rubbish on the ground or threw it into ponds, with some hurling bottles of water into the enclosures.
Director Mahmoud Latiri said that before the makeover, “people thought they were in a circus.”
He echoed widespread complaints that delinquent behavior had risen in Tunisia since a revolution toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.
“People thought everything was allowed, that that was what freedom meant,” Latiri said.
Environment Minister Riadh Mouakher said videos from the zoo even showed children sitting on the backs of rhinoceroses.
Following the crocodile’s death, Mouakher decided to deploy extra guards at the zoo, which he said was “in a rather dilapidated state.”
“It was more a playground than a zoo,” he said.
But since the zoo reopened over the weekend following an extensive makeover, he said he had seen an “improvement in behavior.”
The authorities have cleaned pools, restored pathways, planted thousands of shrubs and flowers, and installed rubbish bins every five meters.
Plastic bags, which are dangerous to animals that eat them, are now banned. New signs instruct visitors not to disturb, feed or throw things at the animals.
“We have a better zoo,” Mouakher said.
His ministry is hoping to spend a further $6.5 million (six million euros) on developing the Belvedere Park surrounding the zoo.
School holidays have bumped visitor numbers up to 8,000 a day. This week, families strolled along the pathways in the sunshine.
Riadh, accompanied by his wife and daughter, said he could see a definite improvement since the makeover.
“Now it is cleaner. You can see that they are looking after it,” he said. Now when you pay, you understand why.”
Hands off the animals: Tunis croc killing zoo reopens
Hands off the animals: Tunis croc killing zoo reopens
Elysee Palace silver steward arrested for stealing thousands of euros’ worth of silverware
- The Sevres Manufactory — which supplied most of the furnishings — identified several of the missing items on online auction websites
- Investigators later found around 100 objects in the silver steward’s personal locker, his vehicle and their home
PARIS: Three men will stand trial next year after a silver steward employed at the official residence of the French president was arrested this week for the theft of items of silverware and table service worth thousands of euros, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
The Elysee Palace’s head steward reported the disappearance, with the estimated loss ranging between 15,000 and 40,000 euros (($17,500-$47,000).
The Sevres Manufactory — which supplied most of the furnishings — identified several of the missing items on online auction websites. Questioning of Elysee staff led investigators to suspect one of the silver stewards, whose inventory records gave the impression he was planning future thefts.
Investigators established that the man was in a relationship with the manager of a company specializing in the online sale of objects, notably tableware. Investigators discovered on his Vinted account a plate stamped “French Air Force” and “Sevres Manufactory” ashtrays that are not available to the general public.
Around 100 objects were found in the silver steward’s personal locker, his vehicle and their home. Among the items recovered were copper saucepans, Sevres porcelain, a René Lalique statuette and Baccarat champagne coupes.
The two were arrested Tuesday. Investigators also identified a single receiver of the stolen goods. The recovered items were returned to the Elysee Palace.
The three suspects appeared in court Thursday on charges of jointly stealing movable property listed as part of the national heritage — an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a 150,000-euro fine, as well as aggravated handling of stolen goods.
The trial was postponed to Feb. 26. The defendants were placed under judicial supervision, banned from contacting one another, prohibited from appearing at auction venues and barred from their professional activities.
