Animals Lebanon sends two abused lion cubs to South African sanctuary

BEIRUT — Two lion cubs, rescued a few months ago from mistreatment at a Lebanese zoo, were transferred by Animals Lebanon on Wednesday from Beirut to the Drakenstein sanctuary in South Africa, the association announced in a statement.

Animals Lebanon first reported the cubs' conditions to the Agriculture Ministry a few months ago, after complaints had been filed regarding their treatment at a zoo in Hazmieh where they were being held.

This zoo, "Zazoo City," was using the two-month-old malnourished African lion cubs as entertainment, passing them from visitor to visitor for $5 photos.

When an investigation was launched, the owner of the zoo, which it was found did not have the proper license to be running, disappeared, taking the cubs with him. Eventually, the ministry was able to recover the cubs, who were later named Ozzy and Jana, and they were placed in the care of Animals Lebanon.

This is not the first time the ministry has seized abused animals from Zazoo City, which, despite a history of violations, remains operational. A lawyer from Animals Lebanon told L'Orient Today in July that during a visit to the zoo, they had observed “atrocious smells, horses eating their own feces because of a lack of food, a lion, a lioness and a tiger that were skeletal, and other animals confined to cages far too small for their size.”

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Animals Lebanon noted that the transfer of the two lion cubs to Capetown was made possible by the contribution of the organization "United for Wildlife" and Qatar Airways Cargo's "Rewild for the Planet" initiative, which transports wild animals free of charge to their natural habitats via Doha.

The Drakenstein sanctuary houses around twenty large felines rescued from all over the world, including several from Lebanon through Animal Lebanon's initiative. Jana and Ozzy will need to go through a brief quarantine before being introduced into the sanctuary proper.

Lions are often trafficked in Lebanon, and are sold for up to $10,000 to zoos or as "exotic pets." Animals Lebanon has rescued eight lions from animal trafficking in Lebanon in the last two years alone and 26 large felines since 2011.

In a bid to curb the trafficking and abuse of animals in Lebanon, the government passed an animal protection law in 2017 which has allowed it to more efficiently crack down on the network within its borders.