Monday, November 19, 2012

Daily Dose of Cuteness - Courtesy of the Pet Souq in Doha, Qatar

I was going back through photos of my travels today, and stumbled upon this collection from the Pet Souq in Doha's Souq Waqif. The Pet Souq is a small section of the maze-like market where you'll find all types of pets for sale--from fish and reptiles, to exotic birds (& dyed chicks), to kittens and puppies. While the animals were absolutely adorable, it seemed like the shopkeepers did not care much to ensure that they had suitable living conditions, and you can almost sense the sadness of these animals because of their poor treatment.

I recently read this article in Time Out Doha about the Souq. In the article it describes the reaction of one Qatari to the Pet Souq: "‘It’s very terrible, the Souq, for me. It’s something that embarrassed me a lot. When I have friends that are visiting me from somewhere else I try to avoid Souq Waqif as much as possible. I remember I had a visiting vet from Spain who came here to Qatar, and we passed by Souq Waqif and he literally teared. I was so embarrassed. I really felt horrible,’ he says. He’s not alone: al-Naemi says many of his Qatari friends are equally troubled by this portion of Souq Waqif."

Even though we in the United States still have a long way to go in terms of regulating animal welfare, we have really come a long way and do a lot to protect our animals. And even though those commercials with Sarah McLaughlin's "Angel" playing in the background and scenes of hurting animals can be particularly distressing, we are lucky that we have such causes in the U.S. to provide for the protection of animals.

Nevertheless, these animals are too cute. Can you too sense their sadness?


inside the Pet Souq - Souq Waqif, Doha, Qatar
inside the Pet Souq in Doha... lined with cages

kittens of Doha Pet Souq - Souq Waqif, Qatar

kittens of Doha Pet Souq - Souq Waqif, Qatar

kittens of Doha Pet Souq - Souq Waqif, Qatar

kittens of Doha Pet Souq - Souq Waqif, Qatar

kittens of Doha Pet Souq - Souq Waqif, Qatar

kittens of Doha Pet Souq - Souq Waqif, Qatar

kittens of Doha Pet Souq - Souq Waqif, Qatar

cuddled bunnies of Doha Pet Souq - Souq Waqif, Qatar
cuddled bunnies
dyed chicks of Doha Pet Souq - Souq Waqif, Qatar
dyed chicks.. not sure why they do this

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