Uday Hussein's Lions

As promised:

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JOHANNESBURG - Lions once kept in a private zoo by the son of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will be moved out of Baghdad to start a new life in the South African bush, animal welfare groups said.
The animals, a lioness and her six cubs and two year-old lions, will be relocated to two different South African game reserves in the hope they will form new prides.

"Lions never lose their instinct to hunt. But they have to get fit first," said Louise Joubert, founder of the SanWild Wildlife Trust.

"Any animal would be traumatised by what happened in Baghdad. But what better way for them to recuperate from trauma than in the wild bush."

U.S. troops in April rescued the lions, along with two cheetahs and a blind bear, from a private zoo that Saddam Hussein's eldest son, Uday, had established in one of Baghdad's presidential palaces.

Uday, known for his love of fierce animals, fast cars and beautiful women, has owned several lions, tigers and cheetahs, some of them gifts from friendly foreign governments.

Like his father, Uday disappeared during the U.S.-led invasion. But the plight of Uday's menagerie has continued to concern animal welfare groups, which have also sought to restore Baghdad's main zoo after it was looted in the mayhem after Saddam's rule collapsed.

Barbara Maas, chief executive of the British-based charity Care for the Wild International, said she persuaded zoo officials and U.S. military authorities to approve relocation of the animals after a recent trip to Baghdad.

Even though Uday's pets had been moved to Baghdad's main zoo, the conditions were there still dire, she said.

"I have never seen anything like it. There were flies everywhere," Maas said in a telephone interview. "Nearly all the infrastructure has been stripped out, everything from fuse boxes to door handles."

The lions are expected to arrive in South Africa as early as next month, while the bear will be sent to a reserve in Greece, she said. The cheetahs - nearly tame - will stay in Baghdad.

Joubert said the lions would start at SanWild, a sanctuary in northern Limpopo province which has already re-introduced two captive lions to the wild. The lioness and her cubs will later be relocated to Ngome Community Game Reserve in southern Kwazulu-Natal province.

Maas said hopes were high the lions would quickly adapt to conditions in the bush. "In Uday's palace they were occasionally fed with live prey - goats and sheep - so it is possible they already know how to kill," she said.



Story by Andrew Quinn

Story Date: 27/5/2003




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© Reuters News Service 2002




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Noddy, got to agree with you on the Muslims and Lions game thing there from the little I knkow of the man...might just be the good thing to do for all invovled.
Its always great when animals are able to return to their natural environment with harmony.

Thanks for that link/article Noddy!