The lion cub, handled roughly by two people, including the man who claims to be its "owner," in the offices of a company in Beirut. The animal shows visible signs of distress. Screenshot from a TikTok video.
The organization Animals Lebanon (AL) has once again condemned the exploitation of a lion cub by a certain A.H.H, who posts videos on TikTok with the young animal. The NGO has noted the presence of several new videos and testimonies about the man, originally from Baalbeck, and the cub being seen in central Beirut, including in the offices of a company.
AL initially raised the issue on Aug. 23 (having monitored it since Aug. 8), based on social media videos and eyewitness accounts that saw the pair on highways and in densely populated cities like Batroun. An investigation was promptly launched by the Baalbeck prosecutor in charge of environmental matters, Iyad Bardan, and by the Ministry of Agriculture, as confirmed to L’Orient-Le Jour by the director of animal resources, Élias Ibrahim. However, the "owner" managed to avoid prosecution by claiming that the cub was not his and that he no longer had it in his possession.
The new videos he posted tell a different story. “A lion cub of barely four months, sick, malnourished, used as a toy by strangers and paraded around in a car… This practice is completely illegal and terrifying for such a fragile animal,” says Lana al-Khalil, president of AL, to L'OLJ.
“The man seen with the cub has stated in his live videos that he is involved in wildlife trafficking and the sale of endangered species. He has committed several legal violations and made contradictory statements. The cub must be immediately confiscated by the authorities,” she insists.
The individual in question told LBCI that wildlife trafficking is indeed his profession and that no one can stop him without "paying him a salary." In the videos he posts, he and others are seen handling the cub roughly and ignoring its distress cries.
“These actions are not only legal violations but also endanger public safety and constitute abuse of animals,” adds Khalil. “The government must act. The cub must be confiscated. This is a violation of the International Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, ratified by Lebanon in 2013), the Lebanese decree on large felines, and the national law on animal protection and welfare (adopted in 2017).”
Animals Lebanon has previously helped rescue several lion cubs, including Issam and Kelly last fall, a brother and sister who arrived through smuggling, and Pi, a young male found in Tripoli in the spring. All three were confiscated from abusive owners and sent to sanctuaries in South Africa. Lebanon is often considered a hub for wildlife trafficking due to its geographic location between Africa and Europe.