British comedian speaks out against treatment of lion in Kurdistan Region

Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — British comedian, actor, and director Ricky Gervais is joining a chorus of voices on social media condemning the recent mistreatment of a lion at its 1-year birthday party in the Kurdistan Region.

"Dirty, worthless filth," Gervais tweeted on Wednesday in response to a video that has gone viral on social media showing a man smashing a birthday cake into the face of a lioness and dragging it across the floor of a cafe in Duhok province.

Gervais, who is also an animal rights activist, was responding to a tweet by a popular biologist and activist, Daniel Schneider, who regularly shares videos of animal and environmental abuse.

"Each and every person in this video needs to have cake thrown in their face, every hour on the hour, for the rest of their lives. Why is it so hard to #BeKindToAnimals?" wrote Schneider. 
 

 

Local animal rights groups have also been critical of the video that surfaced earlier this week.

 

"This topic has become a topic of interest for the whole world. The various sides have considered this as inhumane, bad, and unacceptable..." the Persian Leopard Conservation Organization in Kurdistan, Iraq, wrote on Facebook. 

 

The lioness's owner told Rudaw on June 3 that he was holding a birthday party in Duhok when the incident occurred involving a cake made to be in the shape of a lion.

 

“It was two weeks old when I received it, I bought a chicken and a cat and they are still friends with the lioness, it has not seen any violence and it is very quiet," said Sheikh Blend Berifkani.

 

Blend smashes the cake into the lioness's face while others cheer them on in one clip and in another one, he drags the lioness across the floor of the Hookah cafe where the birthday was held.

 

“We all know that a lion is a feared animal… in this society it is very difficult to be able to live with some people. But to be able to live with a savage lion, that is courage for Sheikh Blend," said Rumi Harki, one of those in attendance.

 

The lioness was born on June 1, 2018 in Erbil. Some 100 people took part in the birthday party. Blend claims the lion is estimated to be worth $70,000.

Following the backlash, Blend took to Instagram to explain his actions. Posting in English and tagging several animal welfare groups, he insisted Leo would soon be returned to the wild. 

“I have never intentionally intended to abuse Leo, moreover, I would never want to hurt him in any way,” said Blend. “The footage shows pure emotions of overwhelmingness and excitement that I had while celebrating his birthday. He has grown to be my very best friend and I love him indescribably.”

Blend says he rescued the orphaned lion and gave him a home and veterinary care. He also claimed his organization regularly helps endangered animals. 

“I admit, it was wrong for throwing a cake on the lions face, I have let my emotions of excitement take over me and I apologize to those whom I have offended. I’m not an animal abuser, I’m constantly working on projects that show how important animals are to me, especially Leo and how much I care for his well-being.” 

“I assure you that Leo is safe and will soon return to the wild,” he added. 


The trade of exotic animals in the Middle East, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, is prolific. The animals are seen as status symbols and laws are lax. 

 

Officials have acknowledged the illegal trading and poaching of animals in the Kurdistan Region, but say they lack the resources to confront the issue. 

 

It was not clear what species of the lion in the video; however, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) lists the African Lion (‘panthero leo’) as "vulnerable" with only about 20,000 remaining worldwide.

 

"Powerful and majestic, the king of the beasts has no natural predators. But unthinkably, African lion numbers have plummeted by over 40% in the last three generations, due to loss of living space and conflict with people," it notes. 

 

"Illegal wildlife trade" is considered one of the main vulnerabilities to the species by the WWF.


Updated June 6, 1.03 p.m