After shy, 18-month-old Aziza joined the passenger list for the flight to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, South Africa, we are six! The six young lions – Saif, Dhubiya, Muheeb, Saham, Shujaa, and Aziza – have all been rescued from the illegal wildlife pet trade in the Middle East.

They are victims of a trade which exploits vanity and the foolish desire to have a lion as a status symbol. All the lions were less than 2 years old when they were either surrendered, confiscated, or captured after being abandoned by owners trying to avoid prosecution for having an illegal pet. We are grateful to the Kuwait Zoo for taking the lions in and caring for them until they could be moved.

And grateful thanks to Qatar Airways Cargo, who will move the lions free of charge as part of their WeQare scheme.

The updated CITES export permits to include Aziza have been issued in Kuwait; CITES South Africa has received the updated application with Aziza added and is working to expedite the import permits. We are hopeful everything will be in place to move the lions in the first two weeks of May. Watch this space for updates. Please help fund the lifetime care for these youngsters – they will be with us for about 20 years and will need you to stand by them.

LIONS SHOULD NEVER BE PETS. No, they don’t want to live in your house and they want to be with their own family and choose what they want to do each day – independence, not learned dependency. Some owners realize too late that the cub they handled is growing fast, getting stronger and has a huge appetite! SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE KEEPING OF BIG CATS AS PETS.

Click here to donate towards the #Kuwait6 for their lifetime care.