Thanks for posting these pictures of what looks to be a pretty grim place. Could you give any more information about the zoo? Whereabouts in DSM is it located? Is it a private enterprise?
@sooty mangabey Hey! The place is indeed quite grim... It is located about 10-15km north of Dar and much more easily reached with public transportation than the larger Dar es Salaam Zoo. I would suspect that this is a private enterprise but can't confirm. I did approach a worker there and asked where the animals had come from and he said they had been bought or brought from the bush. There were also no visitors when I visited.
While searching for more information, I found this interesting piece... JPM: Venture into zoo trade. John Magufuli, the president quoted here, is not the greatest of African leaders. He is virulently homophobic, and recently suggested that Tanzania had defeated the coronavirus through the power of prayer; his comments on zoos are a minor entry in the credit column, however....
@toto98 I’ve just seen your pictures of the DSM Zoo as well - it looks a little better! Neither of these places existed when I lived in Tanzania, 20 years ago. I wonder whether they are linked to the trade in wild animals....
@sooty mangabey I spent 4 months in the country a couple of years back and did a small research project about how the 43 species of birds and mammals that are either Endangered or Critically Endangered were being preserved. I spent some time interviewing conservation NGO's, visiting zoos and meeting officials from the Tanzanian Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI). During that time I met up with a lawyer to uncover the existing regulation on zoos in the country and discovered that the only legislation about them is the following: “any activity related to wildlife ranching, wildlife farming, zoos, game sanctuaries and captive breeding shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations made by the ministry” (Wildlife Conservation Act, 2009) - yet, there are no such regulations. Basically there are no rules for zoos in the country so I'm not surprised their quality is quite low
