Animals Lebanon volgt transport circustijgers en -leeuwen op reis vanuit Egypte - Van alles mis met het circus en dierenwelzijn (1) (foto's hieronder)

Stop Circus abuse in Lebanon!

31-12-2009 Animals Lebanon, Lebanon


We woke up Christmas morning with an email alerting us to a shipment of lions and tigers that was on the Egyptian/Jordanian border and it was headed to Lebanon.

This shipment of six lions and three tigers is part of a circus that was coming here to perform for six months, and advertisements were put up throughout Beirut. The circus was supposed to start on 23 December, but it had been delayed repeatedly as the animals still had not arrived.

The Princess Alia Foundation went to the Aqaba border crossing with the Greater Amman Municipality on 25 December after being notified that the animals had been stuck on the border for days.

According to the report from the Princess Alia Foundation the shipment left its point of origin in Egypt on 21 December, and the Egyptian crew accompanying the shipment said the animals had been put in the crates approximately ten days before.

The shipment was delayed for two days on the border as the Egyptian crew did not have the proper paperwork to show they could continue the journey to Syria. The crew admitted that they had not provided food or water since they left their point of origin I Egypt as the owner of the animals did not provide them with money to purchase it.

Food and water were purchased by the Princess Alia Foundation and the officials from the Greater Amman Municipality after it became clear that the animals had not been fed or watered for at least two days. They the escorted the shipment to the Syria border, and the animals finally left Jordan at 13:20 on 26 December and headed into Syria.

More information from the Princess Alia Foundation is available here.

While we did inform two officials in the Ministry of Agriculture that this shipment was on its way and warned them that there were serious problems with the paperwork, unfortunately the animals were let in. They insisted that they were taking the matter seriously and would contact us once the animals arrived to the Lebanese border. Unfortunately we were not informed, and after getting the Ministry official on the phone he admitted that the shipment had already entered Lebanon and was at the circus already.

We raced to the circus grounds to document the animals as quickly as possible and check on their health, but found that the animals had still not arrived. After speaking to different circus staff and making a range of calls, we found out that the shipment had been stopped at the border as the crew did not have the proper documents.

Sitting in a nearby parking lot for hours, we began to wonder if the shipment was hidden somewhere until the circus was about to start as they were aware of the complaints about them that had started to come in. As it got dark, we finally saw the truck pull up at 19:45 on 27 December, six full days after the animals left their point of origin in Egypt.

We watched nearby for the next three hours as the trucks were slowly pulled around and equipment was offloaded from the two trucks carrying the animals. A crane lifted the two large crates containing the animals from the semi-trucks that had driven them from Egypt, and the animal crates were arranged behind the circus tent.

Early morning a report was prepared with the information we had so far, this was sent to the Ministry of Agriculture. We called in every favor and contact we had to make sure this information read the newly elected Minister and to try and get a meeting the next day.

The first performance of the circus was at 18:00 on 28 December, less than 24 hours after the end of this week long trip. Front row seats for $40 each were bought, and we sat through ninety minutes of circus performance, everything from clowns and jugglers, to acts with dogs and even audience participation with two large snakes.

The last act was of Mohamed Helou, the ‘lion tamer’ and person listed as the exporter from Egypt on the permits, as he forced the lions and tigers to perform from the audience. 20 minutes of lions and tigers jumping around, Helou screaming for them to act, as he waved to the crowd while sitting on one of the lions.

While we were at the performance we received a call that was nearly impossible to hear over the loud music of the circus. It was a struggle to understand but we soon realized it was the minister asking us to come to his office the next morning.

A follow up report was prepared with information gathered that day, and the Minister was very receptive to our information and stance on this issue. We were able to show point after point that regulations were not followed, not in Lebanon and most probably not in Egypt either.

The way the animals were transported does not meet even the most basic standards of guidelines for animal welfare. Most documents seemed incorrect or totally missing – CITES permits, health certificates, microchip details, veterinary booklets.

Lebanon is severely lacking in animal welfare legislation which makes it important to show the failures in the paperwork if we are to be able to save these animals. Sadly, the conditions of the animals were just as poor.

The information about the transport was bad enough, but we had also been informed by the Princess Alia Foundation that one of the lions, a female cub, had recently had her claws removed and she had not healed from this cruel surgery. Her paws were still bloody and raw, and it would be very difficult for them to heal properly because of the condition she was being transported in.

Based on the information we provided, the Minister sent us the same day with Ministry vets to check on the animals. Television crews and newspaper reporters were on hand as we entered the circus, and the situation became very tense and aggressive within minutes. We were stopped by Mohammed Helou and Hussein Akef – another organizer of the circus, as well as the local Lebanese organizer. There were arguments about cameras and filming, about whose authority we were there on, and who they would let into the circus grounds. The situation was finally calmed down a bit and we were able to get them to understand who we are and why we were there.

With the Ministry vets standing nearby, we asked to see the veterinary booklets for each animal. These could not be produced. We asked to see the microchip documents. These could not be produced. Helou and Akef went through the process of opening what looks to be newly purchased microchips, and peeled off nine stickers and claimed these were for the animals.

Asking to see the animals, they refused to allow anyone from the media to see the animals, and insisted we do not film or photograph. Eight adult animals were viewed for only a couple minutes, and while we are not vets and do not feel an assessment can be based on such minimal access, but there was no fresh bedding on site and no free access to water for any of the animals. They were still in the same small cages they had been in for over a week.

The lion cub was last, in a small metal cage covered by a plastic tarp. As tension had continued to build and we felt we already had enough information, we did not put up an argument to examine her paws. The night of the arrival we were able to get pictures which show the paws still bloody, and from the pictures taken in Jordan there is no way they could have healed in that time.

As we slowly worked our way back to the entrance of the circus on our way to leave, we pushed a few more times to see what papers actually exist. We were all surprised to see the assistant trainer come out with the cub in front of us and all the media. Helou and Akef stated that this was to prove they have nothing to hide and their animals are healthy.

What they didn’t realize if that a series of pictures show Helou pushing on the back paws to show the claws were still there, while Akef twist the front paws around and covered them from view. The first pictures show the paws clearly bloody and raw, and following pictures show Akef realizing this and covering them up.

These same people have been investigated repeatedly, and had all animals confiscated in early 2007 in Mozambique. A full report of this confiscation can be seen here, and the reasons for confiscation was no different than what is happening in Lebanon now.

More reports and meetings have been held with the Minister as we urge him to take appropriate action against the organizers and have the animals confiscated. This shipment could have been stopped long before ever entering Lebanon, but now is the opportunity for the Ministry to make a strong statement that Lebanon will no longer be used as a hub for smuggled animals.

Helou, Akef and other people at the circus repeatedly told us that we did not have permission to film or photograph anything at the circus. Despite this, we were able to document the arrival of the aniamls to the circus grounds in Beirut, the unloading of the crates late the night of the arrival, the baby lion hours before the first performance, the circus performance itself, and pictures of Helou and Akef.

We hope to be able to have a video available in the coming days, and an article in Al-Akhar newspaper can be seen here, and another in L’Orient Le Jour can be seen here.

(Bron: http://www.animalslebanon.org/)