Concern for circus lion cubs brings action in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Dubai

[Guest guest]

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2010:

 

 

Concern for circus lion cubs brings action in Lebanon, Egypt,

Jordan, and Dubai

 

BEIRUT--Concern over the plight of a circus lion cub,

rallied by Animals Lebanon, has persuaded Lebanon to ratify the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

The global conservation community had failed for 27 years to

persuade a succession of Lebanese governments to endorse CITES,

brokered by the United Nations in 1973. But Animals Lebanon, a

two-year-old animal rights group, succeeded in less than 90 days,

by showing the Lebanese public, initially skeptical mass media, and

senior officials that inability to enforce CITES rules is a

significant cause of animal suffering.

Along the way, the suffering of the lion cub also helped to

prompt Jordan to adopt a national animal welfare law, taking effect

on April 2, 2010, and led to Egypt introducing a requirement that

henceforth circus animals may be transported out of the country only

by air.

Animals Lebanon president Lana El-Khalil and cofounders Jason

Mier and Marguerite Sharawi joined a delegation invited by Lebanese

agriculture minister Hussein Al-Hajj Hassan to attend an early March

2010 meeting in Qatar held to discuss the details of Lebanon becoming

a CITES member.

Hussein Al-Hajj Hassan made clear to CITES secretary general

Willem Wijnstekers " that he has every intention of having Lebanon

join CITES within one year, and that he is pleased to have groups

such as Animals Lebanon help accelerate the process, " said El-Khalil.

The Lebanese decision to join CITES came too late for Lebanon

to participate as an active member at the 15th triennial Conference

of the Parties of CITES, held in Doha, Qatar from March 13 to March

25. Approximately 175 nations attended the CITES triennial, held

for the first time in the Middle East. After Lebanon completes the

requirements for CITES membership, Bahrain will be the last Arab

state to remain a non-member.

" The case of the circus, and the trade of lions and tigers, "

exposed by Animals Lebanon since Christmas 2009, " highlighted the

urgent need to have Lebanon join CITES and protect these endangered

species, " Hussein Al-Hajj Hassen acknowledged in a media statement.

El-Khalil heralded the Lebanese decision to join CITES as

having " the potential to change the course of animal welfare in

Lebanon. "

But the Animals Lebanon achievement and any use of enabling

legislation to advance animal welfare goals were decried by Soumar

Dakdouk, 25, who styles herself senior campaigner, deputy

executive director, and CITES campaign regional coordinator at

IndyACT, a multi-issue Lebanese activist web site hosted by the

League of Independent Activists.

Dakdouk, a past representative of the Society for the

Protection of Nature in Lebanon and presenter at the annual

conference of the Society for Conservation Biology, was among the

four co-authors of " Building Capacity for Sustainable Hunting of

Migratory Birds in Mediterranean Third Countries, " a 2005 report

funded by the European Union.

The report documented the ongoing destruction of birds by

Lebanese hunters in defiance of an unenforced 1994 ban on bird

hunting. It recommended not that the ban be enforced, but rather

that it should be repealed and replaced by the sale of hunting

licenses.

The cover carried the logos of the Society for the Protection

of Nature in Lebanon, BirdLife International, and the Association

Les Amis des Oiseaux.

" After Lebanon joins CITES, " Dakdouk wrote, " a new law

must be put in place to implement the Convention. This law must not

be confused with a law for the ethical treatment of animals. The two

are completely different matters. "

Responded Mier, " CITES is a convention about trade first and

foremost. But CITES makes clear that animals cannot be traded

without their welfare being protected during trade, and without

ensuring that they are going to a facility that can ensure their

welfare, and has provisions to protect the welfare of animals who

are confiscated. "

 

Christmas morning

 

The sequence of events leading Lebanon into CITES started,

recalled Animals Lebanon cofunder Marguerite Sharawi, when on

Christmas morning she received an e-mail from Princess Alia

Foundation managing director Sarra Ghazi, forwarded by ANIMAL

PEOPLE, " alerting us to the imminent arrival of a cargo of lions and

tigers from Egypt, " via Jordan and Syria. The Jordan-based Princess

Alia Foundation " had already intercepted the lorry at the border

between Egypt and Jordan, " Sharawi continued. " The Princess Alia

Foundation found out that the animals hadn't been let out of the

lorry for 10 days and hadn't eaten for three days. They were in a

bad way. The driver said that the owner of the animals hadn't given

him any money to feed the animals. So the Princess Alia Foundation

gave them food and water, treated their wounds, and escorted them

to the Syrian border. "

This was all that the Princess Alia Foundation could do in

December 2009, but publicity about the poor condition of the lions

and tigers soon helped to change that situation, nearly four years

after a Jordan Times expose of poor conditions at Jordanian zoos

began to draw international attention to lack of a useable Jordanian

animal welfare law. The Jordan Times criticisms were amplified over

the next several years by Asia Animal Protection Network founder John

Wedderburn.

" The Princess Alia Foundation has been trying to address the

terrible situation in the zoos in Jordan, " explained Ghazi in an

April 3, 2010 e-mail to Wedderburn. " In January of 2010 a number of

animals in desperate need of medical aid were confiscated. This was

the first time that animals were confiscated from Jordanian zoos.

The government is addressing this issue. Until yesterday we had no

legislation in Jordan for animal welfare. Now that we have

legislation, we are hoping that we may be able to address the zoos

more aggressively. "

While the Jordanian backstory developed, Sharawi and Mier

of Animals Lebanon investigated where the neglected lions and tigers

came from, and where they were going.

" We soon made the link between the delivery of cats and

posters for the Monte Carlo Egyptian Circus that had been put up

everywhere just beforehand, " Sharawi said. " According to the

posters, the shows were supposed to begin on December 23, 2009, "

but the scheduled performances were postponed because the animals did

not actually reach Lebanon until four days later. The animals

arrived with incomplete or erroneous CITES documentation, but

because Lebanon was not a CITES member, they could not be

intercepted or confiscated.

" There were five adult lions, three tigers and a cub whose

feet were bleeding because her claws had been removed so that

children could get close to her, " Sharawi and Mier saw. " The wounds

from the removal of her claws had not had time to heal before the

trip, " Sharawi saw. " We immediately alerted the Ministry of

Agriculture, but when the ministry vets came, they said they didn't

find anything untoward. The day after they reached Lebanon, the

animals started their daily show. The cub was locked in a cage

covered with a plastic sheet. "

Collecting their own photo and video evidence, Sharawi and

Mier " went directly to see agriculture minister Hussein Hajj Hassan, "

Sharawi continued.

Hussein Hajj Hassan verified the evidence, then ordered that

the animals should be returned to Egypt within 48 hours, which would

have prevented the circus from profitably performing. Months of

legal skirmishing followed. Instead of closing the circus, Mier

told ANIMAL PEOPLE, " They increased the number of performances and

did three shows a day over the weekend, two shows per day during the

week. "

But the shows were cancelled by police on January 12, 2010.

The Lebanese promoter sought to discredit Mier on a January 16

television broadcast by " saying I am an 'American' and he thinks I am

a Jew, " Mier laughed afterward.

The promoter also accused Mier of soliciting a bribe.

" Luckily I record everything with a voice recorder, " Mier

said, " and there was another person with me at the meeting, " where

the promoter alleged that this happened.

Name-calling failed, but Monte Carlo Egyptian Circus owner

Elsayed Hussein Akef managed to remain in Lebanon, hosting

performances, by contending that he lacked the permits he needed to

take the animals back to Egypt.

Recounted Mier, " Jordan issued a statement saying they had

already given the permission to transit on the way back to Egypt.

Syria also gave permission to transit, " but " stated that the

shipment was not in compliance with CITES when it came through Syria

on the way to Lebanon. Egypt is the only country that did not give

permission, " even after Mier personally visited Egyptian CITES

officer Nabil Sidki in Cairo to ask for a document stating that the

animals could return.

" It is my opinion that the Egyptian authorities did not give

permission so that the circus would not have to leave Lebanon, " Mier

told ANIMAL PEOPLE. Meanwhile, CITES international enforcement

officer John Sellar confirmed at Mier's reqest that " it is not

necessary to have an import permit for Appendix II animals who are

being re-exported back to their country of origin. CITES has no

problem with the animals being moved from Lebanon whenever its

authorities wish. "

In the interim Akef won a Lebanese court ruling that, as

Mier summarized, " the harm done by having the circus stopped would

be greater than the harm done by not being in compliance with the

laws. " Lebanese agriculture minister Hussein Hajj Hassan appealed

the ruling, but a verdict is not expected until after the Akef

circus finally moves on.

" Since then, " Mier added on April 4, " Akef has sued the

Lebanese promoter for failing to live up to whatever agreement they

had, asking the government to appoint someone to oversee the circus

and finances. "

Noted Mier, " An Italian circus arrived in Lebanon a few days

ago, " giving Akef some competition for audience share. " They

arrived with a stack of documents 10 inches high. The CITES permits

and documentation were all there. The tigers are 50% bigger than

those of Akef, and exercise enclosures were set up for most of the

animals the day they arrived. "

 

Around the Gulf

 

The high-profile Animals Lebanon and Princess Alia Foundation

efforts to aid the Egyptian Monte Carlo Circus animals prompted

closer attention to the conduct of other Egyptian-based circuses

throughout the Middle East--including in Bahrain, the last non-CITES

nation in the region.

Five lions and two tigers were reportedly stranded at the

Ahli Club in Zinj, Bahrain, for five days in January 2010 after a

company called Frsan International Management was unable to find an

airline to fly them back to Egypt in compliance with the new Egyptian

circus animal transport regulation. Frsan managing director Fadhel

Albado told Aniqa Haider of Gulf News that the circus eventually had

to charter a cargo plane to come from Egypt.

In mid-March 2010 Gulf News staff reporter Abbas Al Lawati

alleged that Egyptian-European Circus owner Mamdouh Al Helou (the

Arabic surname is also commonly transliterated as Helw) had offered

to sell two lion cubs to a pair of undercover journalists in Abu

Dhabi without the required permits. " If selling cubs is illegal, I

will not sell them, " Al Helou said when confronted by Al Lawati.

" Al Helou said he did not know that selling the two cubs is

illegal in the UAE, " Al Lawati wrote. " He admitted, however, that

he was aware that the CITES permit that he obtained to bring the

circus animals to Abu Dhabi required him to exit with all the animals

he brought. "

" Arrangements can be made [to bypass that requirement], " Al

Helou told Al Lawati. " We can get a death certificate, for

example, " Al Helou said.

Gulf News staff reporters Emman-uelle Landais and Mohammed N.

Al Khan revealed further details of the proposed clandestine

transaction two days later, adding that the lion cubs were " crippled

by a calcium deficiency, " which left them unable to walk.

Eventually the Dubai government confiscated both cubs.

" The Al Helou family is very well known in Egypt with regard

to lions and tigers, " Mamdouh Al Helou told Landais. " The trade has

been passed from father to son. My son Mohammad is a fifth

generation lion trainer. "

" It is believed that Mamdouh Al Helou and the Akef family

work together, " wrote Landais.

The Akef circus lion trainer is Mohamed Helou--but he is not

Mamdouh Al Helou's son Mohammad.

Like the Egyptian-European Circus, the Akef family circus

has been suspected of wildlife trafficking.

" Even for a circus, the Akef carvan is a bit bizarre, "

observed Donald G. McNeil Jr. on page one of The New York Times on

November 28, 1995. " Most circuses hustle from town to town to sell

as many tickets as possible. But the Akef circus moves desultorily.

It arrived in Zimbabwe in May, gave sparsely attended performances

in July and August, and left in early November. The route of the

circus took it through Dijbouti, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and

Malawi--dirt-poor countries where few people can afford circus

tickets, but rich in animals and scarce in sophisticated policing

techniques. "

" Akef arrived in Uganda with five pythons, " then-Zimbabwe

SPCA officer Meryl Harrison told McNeil. " Then he had two. He

arrived in Kenya with seven, and in Zambia with six, then had two.

He entered Zimbabwe with four. "

Continued McNeil, " The number of lions in the circus has

been as high as 10 and as low as six; endangered African gray

parrots have gone from nine to zero. Akef Circus left Egypt with two

chimpanzees. Six were seized en route. "

Eventually Harrison confronted Elsayed Hussein Akef, McNeil

reported. Akef " showed her bills of sale for babies bought from a

known Zairean smuggler. "

The Helou and Akef circus issues took a theatrical twist on

March 1, 2010 when Middle East Network for Animal Welfare wildlife

panel organizer Dina Zulfikar persuaded Mouhamed El Helw and

Egyptian-Russian Circus lion trainer Faten el Helw to briefly address

the MENAW conference and take questions from the floor. Jason Mier

was in the front row with a laptop video presentation detailing the

Akef circus tour of southern Africa in 1995 and the Akef circus

debacle in Lebanon and Jordan, featuring Mohamed Helou.

Faten el Helw claimed to have no knowledge of either Akef or

Mohamed Helou. " Who is this man? " she asked, as Mier projected

Mohamed Helou's photo on a large screen between them.

Faten el Helw next performed in Abu Dhabi. Reported Landais

of Gulf News on April 4, 2010, " The Egyptian-Russian-European

circus opened yesterday and was keen to disassociate itself from two

lion cubs who suffered severe animal cruelty at the hands of their

owner, the namesake of the circus' biggest act-Faten Al Helw.

Mamdouh Al Helou and Faten Al Helw, an Egyptian lion trainer working

with Sky Entertainment, the company behind the

Egyptian-Russian-European circus, are 'not directly related,'

according to Chadi Bassar, marketing manager for Sky Entertainment.

" Ticket sales for the circus were stopped in some outlets as

a result of mistaken identity between the two Egyptian performers, "

Bassar told Landais. --Merritt Clifton

 

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephones: 360-579-2505, 360-678-1057

Cell: 360-969-0450

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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