Neglect at Havana's 26th Zoo Raises Alarms

The once-celebrated 26th Zoo in Havana is now facing some of its darkest days. Its facilities are visibly deteriorating with dried-up ponds, filthy enclosures, malnourished animals, and an overwhelming stench. This bleak scene not only highlights the crisis within this institution but also mirrors the widespread structural collapse in a country where resources are scarce for both humans and animals alike. A zoo employee, voicing his frustration, stated, "If there's nothing for Cubans, what can there be for animals? This is genocide," as reported in a post by La Tijera on Facebook.

Images shared by the platform reveal completely dry crocodile ponds and polluted artificial lakes, as children and the elderly attempt to navigate through swarms, searing heat, and a foul odor. A visitor, the grandmother of a young girl, remarked with resignation, "They should turn it into a small private business, since everything here that's still running is privately managed anyway." Her comment captures the sentiment of many Cubans facing the collapse of state services and the informal privatization of what barely functions in the country.

As we've reported multiple times on CiberCuba, the zoo is a shadow of its former self. Once a source of pride for the city, its current state of neglect concerns both visitors and employees. A stroll through the zoo reveals deteriorating cages, many of which are rusted and poorly maintained, alongside empty ponds, public areas with broken benches, accumulated trash, and paths in disrepair.

Forgotten Animals in a Nation Struggling to Survive

Activist Yamilka Laffita, known as Lara Crofts, joined the voices of concern, stating, "These images you see here are from the PETA zoo (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Under the Cuban regime, animals live in these HORRIBLE conditions in captivity," she wrote on social media, attaching shocking photographs of the facilities.

Once a symbol of pride for Cuba's capital, the 26th Zoo now serves as a living portrait of a nation's collapse: lacking medicines, water, food, electric power, and now, even the basic conditions necessary to sustain animal life.

While the regime continues its triumphant rhetoric, blaming the U.S. embargo for all its woes, the Cuban people are enduring an unprecedented humanitarian crisis with crumbling services and a society increasingly divided. The zoo, now emblematic of this downfall, languishes in the indifference of those who should be safeguarding its future.