By Carol Rizk and Patrick Galey
Daily Star staff
Saturday, August 29, 2009 
BEIRUT: Far from the wilds of Africa, inside an abandoned cage dumped in a small alley, a two-year-old lion was found clinging onto life on Thursday night in the Beirut neighborhood of Karantina. The lion was said to have been imported to Lebanon by a pet shop owner for commercial purposes and was found locked in a cage near the Forum de Beyrouth.
It was left stranded without any care, according to animal rights NGO Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA), which called its possession illegal.
“The owner doesn’t have any importation papers for the lion and he has left him in a fatal condition,” said BETA vice-president Helena Husseini.
An employee working in the area contacted BETA after discovering the animal. The organization called security officials, who arrived at the scene in a bid to confiscate it.
BETA president John Barrett reiterated that the lion was in terrible condition, but said that Lebanon was one of two Middle Eastern countries that had failed to sign the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES), which would outlaw its possession.
“There are laws in Lebanon for pet animals but the punishment under these laws is very small. However a wild animal is still not allowed to be in the country, and this pet shop owns wild animals such as chimpanzees and foxes,” said Barrett.
The animal had supposedly been abandoned for around two weeks and was suffering from malnutrition, depression and stress, according to veterinarian Dr Elias Nicholas. It was also found to have Hypoproteinemia – a deficiency of protein in the blood – and had infected limbs caused by a lack of movement.
BETA members disputed the owner’s claim that he had fed and cared for the animal since it was six months old.
The pet shop owner was unavailable for comment on Friday but was taken in by the Internal Security Forces (ISF) along with some BETA members for questioning.
The Prosecutor General gave BETA permission to confiscate the animal on Friday morning and asked it to administer necessary treatment.
BETA immediately contacted wildlife sanctuary Animal Encounter and transported the lion to its headquarters in Aley.
The sanctuary specializes in rescuing Lebanese wildlife, and Animal Encounter co-founder Mounir Abi Said confirmed he had the necessary equipment to help the animal.
Nonetheless, he expressed his concern, saying the lion was gravely ill and its survival chances were slim.
“We need to find it a home abroad,” he said.
Both Said and BETA expressed regret that wild animals were being imported to Lebanon and suggested that the trafficking in animals was kept undercover because pet shop owners benefited from strong connections and political protection.
“This is not the first incident we have come across and we’ve seen lions being imported, only to be shot and then used for decoration purposes,” said Barrett.
“We want people to understand that animals too are living creatures. We know that pet shops will always exist but we want to regulate them,” he said.
Barrett added that BETA was trying to implement animal rights laws in Lebanon but faced difficulty when it came to seeing them followed through by the authorities.
Lion cub found dumped in Beirut wasteland -
29th August 2009
