The video showed a woman armed with a hunting rifle shooting twice at a dog, believed to be a German shepherd, and killing it in Lebanon’s Western Bekaa Valley region. It sparked outrage as it spread on social media, along with calls from users and animal-rights activists for the woman to be arrested.
The outcry prompted Minister of Agriculture Abbas Al-Hajj Hassan to call on the local authorities to launch an investigation. He said he has contacted the region’s general prosecutor, who will direct officials to take appropriate action.
“Every citizen will bear the consequences of their actions,” Al-Hajj Hassan said in a message posted on Twitter. “We call on all concerned authorities to be stern with such unacceptable inhuman and uncivilized actions.”
Antoine Kanaan, a lawyer and editor-in-chief of the Lebanon Law Review, told Arab News that the woman’s act is punishable under the provisions of existing animal welfare laws. If convicted, he said, the woman could face a fine of up to 10 times the minimum wage of 650,000 Lebanese pounds a month (about $30, based on readily available unofficial exchange rates during the financial crisis in the country).
“This highlights the shortcomings of that law, as many would find such a punishment to be insufficient and not enough of a deterrent,” Kanaan said.
Prison terms for acts of animal cruelty only apply to people who abuse or kill endangered species, he added.
“In this particular case the dog seems to be a common dog, from what I could establish through the social media posts, and not an endangered species.”
The woman has deactivated her Facebook account but before doing so she posted a message saying that she killed the animal as “an act of self defense” because a month ago the animal bit her daughter while she was feeding it. She posted photos of her daughter’s injuries to corroborate her story and said that the girl had been hospitalized and underwent surgery.
Nevertheless, animal activist Ghina Nehfawi told Al-Jadeed TV that the woman should be “punished for her brutal and inhuman act.”
Animals Lebanon, a nongovernmental organization that promotes animal welfare, shared the video and a photo of the woman on its Facebook and Instagram pages.
They said: “Action is being taken legally against this shooting. Judge Iyad Badran has been contacted.
