Case Study: Transporting Animals for the Tashkent Zoo

About Tashkent Zoo
 

Tashkent Zoo was founded in 1924, making it one of the oldest zoos in Central Asia. Over the years, it has undergone renovations expanding its area and acquiring new species. Today, Tashkent Zoo is home to a diverse collection of wildlife, housing about 400 species of animals, both native and from around the world, in an area of 21.5 hectares.

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Background & Challenge

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Tashkent Zoo acquired three zebras, three giraffes, a white lion, and a white Bengal tiger from a wildlife farm in Johannesburg, South Africa. The animals needed to travel 10,827 km from Johannesburg (JNB) to Tashkent (TAS) via Istanbul (IST) airport to reach their new home in Tashkent Zoo. Tashkent Zoo, in their search for a qualified logistics provider, approached CargoPoint for assistance. Due to their size, animals could not be transported on passenger aircraft so shipping on cargo aircraft was the only viable solution. It turned out that the giraffes could not fit the Turkish Cargo aircraft - an A340 - operating at the time on both Johannesburg-Istanbul and Istanbul-Tashkent legs of the trip.

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Strategy & Execution

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Our air charter specialists worked with Turkish Cargo Istanbul HQ, Johannesburg, and Tashkent stations to arrange a special charter aircraft from Johannesburg to Tashkent. Taking an aircraft out of Turkish Airlines' busy flight schedule in the midst of the high season was no easy task, so the matter was escalated to the top management of Turkish Cargo through appropriate channels.
 

Once the flight schedule was confirmed, the rainy season started in South Africa, resulting in a one-week delay due to concerns about the welfare of the animals. Once again, the CargoPoint air charter team was scrambled, working with Turkish Cargo to find an appropriate aircraft and re-arrange the flight schedule to fit the weather window and quarantine requirements.
 

Two live animal attendants from Tashkent Zoo accompanied the animals all the way from Johannesburg to Tashkent. Our teams had arranged a crane at Tashkent Airport and the Zoo for loading and unloading the animals.

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“Moving live animals over long distances comes with its own challenges, be it finding suitable aircraft, bureaucracy of visa issuance, or stringent quarantine requirements. And of course, the rainy autumn weather didn’t help and we ended up having to cancel our first charter flight out of concern for our animals’ welfare. Despite these challenges, we felt the complete support of the CargoPoint team who worked tirelessly to ensure we had everything in place to successfully accomplish this high-risk mission to deliver the animals to their new home at Tashkent Zoo.”

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Maksudov A. A.

Director, Tashkent Zoo

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Results & Conclusion

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The CargoPoint team has successfully delivered the wild animals from South Africa to Tashkent Zoo in accordance with IATA LAR showcasing our team’s professionalism and deep industry knowledge. Our experts provide tailored solutions to each customer and continuously expand our horizons by conquering new logistical heights to bring the world closer together. Whether you need to forward general cargo or require specialized transport to move your assets around the globe, reach out to our team at CargoPoint - we are here to support your supply chain.