Visitors to this site should remember the great series that Rasha Taha wrote about here “Vegan in: Lebanon.” Although that series touched on many issues of animal use in Lebanon, the focus was mainly food. Rasha is back with a new story to tell about Lebanon and it focuses on the specifics of animal use as well as the efforts to combat it. We are happy to have Rasha write for us again and to be able to share important stories like this.

Right off the bat, I would like to say that during a 12-day vacation, I have gathered enough information to write a book, but I must be brief and straight to the point. I have no time for anecdotal stories of feeding stray cats or being slobbered on by horses. Every sentence needs to deliver a message about animal cruelty and abuse in Lebanon.

All aboard the murder boat

The ethics behind the consumption of meat are on a different level in Lebanon. When we, in North America, exclaim that people are not aware of where their meat is coming from, we are discussing being oblivious to factory farm horrors, slaughterhouse nightmares, and all the unnecessary cruelty in between. However, cattle here have an extra ordeal to endure: transportation by sea. Because space and resources are limited compared to the demand for beef, cows cannot be raised in Lebanon to supply the population. The few 10,000 cows raised in Lebanon are for small-scale butchers to sell in neighborhoods, as well as for supermarkets to sell labeled under local meat. Because of this dilemma, cows are transported from countries such as Brazil and Argentina by ships; their journey takes approximately 40 days. Regulations on these ships are less than stringent: there are stories of dead and sick cows being thrown off board, dead and living cattle washing up on shore, or ships having to dock elsewhere along the journey and prolonging the cows’ suffering. Once they arrive to the shoreline, they are sent to the slaughterhouses. The word used to explain to me the state of the slaughterhouses is ‘a joke’. By that, I can assume that there are absolutely no regulations being followed, and by the time a cow reaches the slaughterhouse, it might as well be wishing it was still on board the ship.

With chickens, the scenario is reversed to that of cattle: very few are imported, whereas the majority of chickens are raised and slaughtered in the country. As expected, they are kept in dismal conditions where their numbers are unmonitored and their needs are ignored. Battery cages are common and difficult to regulate the size of due to the lack of information on an ‘ideal’ size. Following the phasing out of battery cages in Europe, Lebanon can hopefully jump on the bandwagon in the future and improve the state its chickens are kept in. The only issue that is tolerable is that farms are usually within close proximity to slaughterhouses, so the chickens don’t have to travel for long distances. Their destination, however, makes up for it.

Daddy, I want a monkey

This is, by far, the most shocking piece of information I have obtained about animals in Lebanon so far; I doubt anything can steal that title from it. The smuggling of exotic species is a common practice, and it doesn’t look like it is quieting down anytime soon. Money can get you anything: lions, tigers, cheetahs, hyenas, apes, bears, and several others are illegally smuggled from Africa as babies. These animals are bought by the wealthy and are treated as their property. They are often on the residence of the rich, displayed in cages for their guests to be impressed by. The owners can claim they have a private zoo and all is settled since there are no regulations for zoos in Lebanon. There is currently a young man of a prestigious family running around with a teenage lion in downtown Beirut; he walks him on a chain in one hand and his dog in the other. The man is clearly oblivious of the consequences of owning a wild animal, let alone a growing one who needs the savannas to roam and hunt in. But everything has a price in Lebanon, and the price of a lion cub is a humble 10,000 American dollars. I am sure everyone in Lebanon is dying to win the lotto to buy their little one a mini version of Africa.

I know I said I wouldn’t include any personal stories, but this one is a must. I had the honor of holding hands with a gentle-eyed creature: the vervet monkey. Sitting in a cage smaller than his head to tail length, this monkey literally reached out to me, knocked my glasses off, then held my hand tightly. I cannot begin to describe to you how much his touch, grip, and fingers resembled those of my newborn nephew. He and a younger monkey are being sold for $450 and $500, respectively. The pet store employee claimed they are brought in from Sri Lanka and India, but trusted resources are very doubtful of that due to the hardships one has to go through in order to obtain monkeys from those countries. I learned that the monkeys were brought in from Africa. The pet store I went to is one of many that sell monkeys, and they make a large profit out of it too. The way the story goes is as following: people buy a monkey for a decent price, take him home and then realize he is not what they expected; a few weeks later, they return him but for a lesser price, thus enabling the pet store to make money off of him over and over again.

An unbroken cycle

It is a rare coincidence for a day to pass by without seeing a stray animal attempting to forage in the garbage bins on the side of the road. Within the capital, the feline population is undoubtedly on par with that of humans’. I have seen –and weaned- several kittens stranded in dumpsters, plant pots, and hidden atop car tires. The reason this problem is so rampant is because people often refuse to spay or neuter their cats due to lack of knowledge, pride, or financial issues. Because of these factors, cats continue breeding and spreading throughout cities. It is heartbreaking seeing mangy-looking, limb-missing cats who deserve loving homes as much as the next ‘purebred’ cat people shell out money for.

In cities and villages across Lebanon, stray dogs are found in abundance. They are often former pets who got lost or were abandoned by their owners. According to the Lebanese police, the appropriate way to take care of the stray dog population is to shoot them; the latest shooting happened late 2011. Unfortunately, stories of dogs being shot are common. Just last month, a pack of dogs was shot in public –including their owner- over a personal dispute. These scenarios show how there is a lack of respect for both animal and human life within these cities.

Swimming in blood

Waste treatment is a neglected issue in Lebanon. The Mediterranean Sea is considered a favourite dump site, withholding a large chunk of the country’s waste. When not occupying the sea, garbage is being dumped into uncontrolled landfills. The disaster at hand here is the waste of slaughterhouses: their idea of disposing blood and liquid waste is pouring it down the public sewer system, which leads to the sea; solid waste is sent –untreated- to open dumps. So the cycle is as follows: cows are slaughtered, their blood pollutes the sea, marine life is poisoned and destroyed, people consume the fish and the cattle, and so it continues. To further complicate the problem, it is estimated that in order to build a modern waste treatment facility, the cost for one slaughterhouse would be nearly 7 million dollars. Even for the brightest optimist, the future is looking bleak for the Lebanese marine ecosystems.

A voice for the voiceless

Roughly 90% of the information I have presented has been provided to me by a dedicated group called Animals Lebanon. Founded in 2008, they are an established and well-respected organization in the Middle East. Through campaigning against animal abuse, raising awareness, and taking issues to parliament, Animals Lebanon has been effective in delivering its message about animal welfare. In November 2011, they presented their draft legislation to parliament lobbying against animal abuse, targeting issues such as zoos, circuses, the pet trade, and others. So far, they have been able to successfully shut down 3 zoos and are constantly working towards abolishing private zoos in Lebanon. They also run an adoption centre for homeless pets out of their head office as well as in foster homes; I had the privilege of meeting with over 40 happy, healthy cats waiting for loving homes. For a measly $40 adoption fee for all of their vaccinated, fixed animals, one wonders why on earth anyone would ever pay money for a companion animal! It was an honor meeting with and talking to compassionate, head-strong individuals who are at the forefront of changing how animals are viewed and treated in Lebanon. For more information about Animals Lebanon, visit www.animalslebanon.org

I am not proud of how Lebanon treats its animals. I am not proud of how it treats its people either. With hard work, fair play, and being mindful of respect at all times, the country can improve its living conditions for all of its inhabitants.