BEIRUT: A leading animal rights group gathered supporters from across Lebanon to plant 1,000 trees on Sunday in celebration of World Animal Day (WAD). Animals Lebanon decided on the tree planting to highlight the dangers faced by Lebanese wildlife in a country once teeming with wild boar, porcupines and hyenas but is now worryingly depleted of fauna. “Conflict, urbanization and unregulated hunting have all contributed to our local wildlife being decimated,” said Lana Al-Khalil, Animals Lebanon president and the Lebanese Ambassador to WAD. “We all need to do far more to protect our wildlife and the habitats that sustain them. Bears, hyenas and jackals should not be ending up in unregulated zoos, pet shops or personal animal collections.” Lebanon is notorious for the import and forced captivity of several exotic animals, with scores of landowners and, according to some civil society groups, even members of parliament keeping extensive personal collections of wild species. Sunday's ceremony at the Cedar Nature Reserve in the central Al Chouf Mountain range was attended a representative of the Environment Ministry and the wife of Progressive Socialist Party Leader Walid Jumblatt, Nora, herself a long-term animal rights campaigner. “Through replanting efforts and increased protection, the forests of Lebanon can flourish and once again support a diverse range of wildlife,” continued Lana. “As we continue to rescue animals from substandard facilities we look forward to being able to safely reintroduce them into protected areas such as the Al Chouf Reserve.” Animals Lebanon has formulated a draft law proposal which is set to be submitted to the Agriculture Ministry, seeking to make abuse or mistreatment of animals illegal in the country. Currently, maltreating a pet carries only token financial reparation, owing to outdated welfare laws. “It's very important because as an organization we go about our days trying to rescue animals and some are local wildlife,” Khalil told Bikya Masr. “You can do this rescuing but there is no long term legislation so there is no resolving the problem. “If these laws are past it's a deal to be able to protect animals. In this way, animal abuse would not just be immoral it would also be illegal.” Khaled Sleem, Coordinator of an environmental awareness program at the American University of Beirut, called for those in attendance to use the opportunity presented by WAD to consider the continuing deterioration of Lebanon's once-flourishing forests. “People depend on nature for ecological services and livelihoods; and the loss of biodiversity equates to a deterioration of the livelihoods of countless societies as well as the quality of life for everyone,” he said. BM
