this line refers to the more than 300 animals that disappeared from the baghdad zoo when the coalition forces invaded baghdad, iraq, in 2003. for a short time, there was fierce fighting between the Iraqi Republican Guard and the coalition troops in the zoo area and Mortar rounds and tank released a lot of zoo animals. later, many animals were stolen by looters. before the american incasion, the baghdad zoo was the biggest zoo of the middle east. The zoo reopened in July 2003, three months after the invasion.in September 2003, american soldiers had a party in the zoo after it had closed. a drunk soldier attempted to touch a rare benghal tiger, but the tiger mauled his arm and bit off his finger. A second soldier then shot and killed the tiger.the baghdad zoo is mentioned in this song because a Parallel can be drawn between tony hancock's phrase send away the tigers [phrase], battling his inner demons with alcohol, and the animals being released from this zoo. both lines are about A misguided idea of liberation, which in a broader sense can be understood as a critique on the war in iraq.