A Lebanese animal rights organization has saved a chimpanzee from one of the country's zoos, getting the animal rescued and flown to safety to a Brazilian sanctuary. Animals Lebanon reported on Sunday that they “successfully campaigned to close the zoo and send the animals to sanctuaries.” The 12-year-old chimpanzee was flown to a sanctuary in Brazil after it had been rescued from the zoo, the animal rights organization said in a statement. “The chimpanzee Omega was used in a restaurant for two years when he was still young, serving narguileh water pipes to customers,” the group said of the animal's history in Lebanon. “After he was no longer able to be controlled, Omega was given to the zoo and has languished alone for the last eight years in a small cage,” the added. Located in the village of Ansar, the zoo was built on the grounds of what used to be a detention camp during Lebanon's civil war. The owner recognized that the animals are not being kept in appropriate conditions and agreed to turn over all animals. The Curitiba sanctuary in Brazil has agreed to care for Omega for the rest of his life, while the hyena, baboons and other animals at the zoo will be sent to sanctuaries in Lebanon and internationally. “There is still no licensing or regulating of zoos in Lebanon,” said Lana El-Khalil, President of Animals Lebanon. “This is the third zoo we have worked to close down, and until the remaining zoos meet international standards Animals Lebanon will continue to campaign to have conditions drastically improve or the zoos closed.” Chimpanzees and other highly endangered wildlife continue to be smuggled into and through Lebanon, and recently have been found at a gas station and restaurant, and in private animal collections. Lebanon is one of the few remaining countries which have not yet joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the main international convention which should protect these animals. Jason Meir, Animals Lebanon's Executive Director, told Bikya Masr that “there is still a great deal of work to be done in Lebanon and the Middle East as a whole when it comes to zoos. “Private facilities continue to open, there is no regional association of zoos, and few zoos meet the standards of the World Association of Zoo and Aquarium Association,” he added. The chimpanzee is the first to be rescued from its horrible conditions and taken to an animal sanctuary. BM
