Animal charity removes 15 animals it rescued from Gaza zoo

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FILE -- In this Friday, Aug. 19, 2016 file photo, a Palestinian worker stands next to an ill baby deer, laying on mattresses in a metal cage, in a zoo in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. An international charity has removed 15 animals it rescued from the Gaza Strip\'s main zoo, dubbed "the worst in the world." Four Paws, an animal welfare group, will resettle the animals from the Khan Younis zoo abroad, where they will have a chance at a better life. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra, File)

GAZA, Palestinian Territory – An international charity has removed 15 animals rescued from the Gaza Strip’s main zoo, dubbed “the worst in the world.”

Four Paws, an animal welfare group, will resettle the animals from the Khan Younis zoo abroad, where they will have a chance at a better life. The rescue was announced last week.

The removal of the animals, completed Wednesday, effectively closed the zoo. Most of the animals are headed to Jordan while a tiger is moving to South Africa.

The rescued animals include monkeys, an emu, a pelican and a porcupine. The team initially had two deer, but one died ahead of the exodus, highlighting the precariousness of the animals’ existence at the zoo.

The Khan Younis zoo has made headlines in the past for its difficult conditions.

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