Decades-old Iraq market sells all types of animals

(23 May 2023)
IRAQ ANIMAL MARKET
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
LENGTH: 3:06
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sulaymaniyah, Iraq - 12 May 2023
1. Monkey for sale at market
2. Birds on display
3. Various of people buying and selling birds
4. Squirrels in cage
5. Peacock for sale
6. Fancy pigeons on display
7. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Najat Osman, animal trader at market:
"This is the animal market. It is open on Fridays and it is a favorite destination for people from other areas. We even have people coming from Baghdad and other major cities. It is a nice market, and it's specialized in birds, chickens, and all kinds of animals.”
8. Various of colorful birds in cages
9. Various of people buying chicks
10. Cats in cage
11. People visiting market
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ismael Ibrahim, seller of birds:
"All types (of animals) are available here, squirrels and kaws (partridges), which we call the qabech in Arabic, but they call it (kaw) here. We have various types of nightingales, and they have also mountainous (animals) that they bring here, such as the qurta (honey badger). They have various mountainous types."
13. Various of man selling rabbits and kittens
Sulaymaniyah - 22 May 2023
14. "Petfection" animal clinic in city
15. Woman holding cat
16. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Lawin Hassan, vet and animal rights activist from Sulaymaniyah:
"Unfortunately, in Iraq generally and in the (Kurdistan) region specifically, everyone is allowed to buy and sell animals without any rules or restrictions on the matter. Everyone can buy and sell these souls, we are talking about souls here. These are not properties, they are living creatures."
17. Various of Hassan with customer at clinic
18. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Lawin Hassan, vet and animal rights activist from Sulaymaniyah:
"The people who want to do this business must implement certain rules, such as providing a suitable place for the animals. The place must be suitable for the size of each animal. The animals have to be provided with enough food and drinks, and provided with a suitable environment that is similar to the conditions they would have in nature."
Sulaymaniyah, Iraq - 12 May 2023
19. Eagle for sale
20. Various of people visiting market
21. People walking on bridge over animal market in Sulaymaniyah
STORYLINE:
Vendors gather under a bridge in Sulaymaniyah once a week in the Kurdish region's oldest animal market to sell everything from monkeys to rabbits and parrots.
The well-known weekly market on Mahwi Street dates back to the 1940s and is held on Fridays.
"It is a favorite destination for people from other areas. We even have people coming from Baghdad and other major cities," says Najat Osman, an animal trader at the market.
Various types of colorful birds including fancy pigeons can be found at the market, in addition to more expensive animals such as eagles and peacocks.
Ismael Ibrahim who has been selling animals in the market for the last 12 years says the market also boasts various types of nightingales.
But vet and animal rights activist, Lawin Hassan, says the ease at which such animals are sold across Iraq is concerning because "everyone is allowed to buy and sell animals without any rules."
"We are talking about souls here. These are not properties, they are living creatures," she adds.
Prices at the weekly market range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars, depending on the type of the animal and how unique it is considered.
A pair of rabbits costs around 15,000 Iraqi dinars ($10), while a pair of squirrels sells for 45,000 dinars ($30).
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.c...
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives ​​
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.c...

[@RoseRoseRoseRoseRoseRose]

Beautiful 🎉❤🎉

[@robsonwilianwinchester9726]

I love animals 😍!!! Please 🙏🥺 put English subtitles on it!!!