We, the undersigned, call upon the Egyptian Government to take action against the act of barbaric animal cruelty planned for the 25th June 2011 - to prevent Al-Essawy from killing a lion as part of a grotesque public spectacle, and to bring him to justice so that no animal can be harmed by him in the future .
Tourism to Egypt will certainly not be boosted by the slaying of an innocent animal but taking measures to prevent this action will show the world that these acts of sheer barbarity have no place in Egyptian society. We implore you to act and thank you for your attention.
News report - 25th May 2011 - DAQAHLYIA, Egypt: In an unusual move to revive Egyptian tourism, a young Egyptian man has announced he will fight an African lion.
Al-Sayed al-Essawy said he bought the lion, which weighs 280 kilograms (617lb), for 25,000 EGP (U.S. $4,200).
Al-Essawy, who lives in Daqahlyia governorate, has finished the iron cage and said he will train with the lion and will be prepared mentally to face the lion. He said this mental preparation takes more than five hours.
Al-Essawy said he will use an iron shield and dagger to defend himself but will kill the lion with his own hands. Full report here: http://english.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=340295
Photo Credit: Andrew G Brown
We the undersigned have had it brought to our attention that a man by the name of Al Sayed Al Essawy, who lives in Daqahlyia governorate, plans to murder a lion in a cage on June 25th as part of a public spectacle which, he says, will improve tourism to your country.
Al Essawy claims he has asked the permission of the Egyptian Ministry of Interior to hold the event in front of the Great Pyramids in order to create media attention and revive tourism in Egypt.
We are sure that you share our horror at this proposal as well as our certainty that allowing an act like this to be played out without intervention will certainly not improve tourism to Egypt but, in fact, will have the exact opposite effect.
The planned action is clearly against the strong legislation in place in Egypt which aims to protect animals and we implore you to ensure that justice is done, that the perpetrator is brought to justice and that the lion is brought to safety.
Environmental Law in Egypt Article 28, #4 (1994)
"It is totally forbidden to hunt, kill or capture wild birds and animals defined in the Law Executive Regulations. It is also forbidden to own such birds and animals, to walk about with them, sell them or display them for sale dead or alive. All who violate Article 28 of this Law will pay a fine of no less than 200 LE and no more than 5000 LE, and will have the impounded birds and animals confiscated from them as well as the tools and utensils used to commit the violations." (Translated by S.P.A.R.E. Egypt)
Yours
