A triumphant army? - Iraqi troops eating animals at Kuwait zoo

Nutrition Health Review, Fall, 1990

A Triumphant Army?

The dictator of Iraq threatens that he is prepared to wage at least four years of war if provoked. Recent behavior of Iraqi troops in occupied Kuwait suggests that either Hussein's army has exotic tastes in food or is on the brink of starvation. Zoo animals are being eaten.

Information from Kuwait reveals that Iraqi troops have eaten three quarters of the edible species in the Kuwait zoo. The zoo's staff fled soon after the August invasion, leaving 208 mammals, 493 birds, and 34 reptiles to fend for themselves.

An official of the World Society for the Protection of Animals recently confirmed these dismal reports by adding: "The latest information is that 70 percent of the edible animals have been eaten by soldiers, especially antelope and deer."

The animals suffered from starvation and dehydration before being slaughtered by hungry Iraqi troops, another report noted.

Officials of the zoo in London, England, have expressed fear that the entire population of the Kuwait zoo is imperiled, including such rare species as the Soemmerings gazelle and shoehill stork.

Some animals, including lions and a cheetah, were wandering through the city. If the "invincible" hordes from Iraq reach a point of desperation, they will probably be the first modern army that feasted upon carnivorous creatures.