Aid Arrives in Lebanon for Starving Stray Animals and Shelters
Ongoing conflicts have left thousands of cats and dogs homeless and in need of lifesaving help
NOVEMBER 18, 2024 – The recent escalating conflict in Lebanon has displaced thousands, leaving many pets abandoned as people flee, particularly from Southern Lebanon. This difficult situation has caused a surge in stray animals and shelters struggling with shortages of food and medical care.
FOUR PAWS, the global animal welfare organization, launched an emergency relief mission to save stray and shelter animals in Lebanon. FOUR PAWS experts are on the ground, distributing crucially needed help for stray animals and shelters. In cooperation with local organizations and volunteers, ten tons of dog and cat food, medicine, and veterinary supplies are being distributed and delivered. Moreover, our veterinarians are visiting multiple shelters to provide lifesaving medical care to animals in need. The emergency efforts aim to help 2,000 animals initially.
“The shelters in Southern Lebanon have had to take in more and more dogs and cats recently and have reached the end of their capacities. By helping the animals, we also provide relief for their caretakers and owners during these challenging times. We have seen deceased cats and dogs starved to their bones, lying among the rubble of buildings destroyed by missiles and others who are badly injured. This underlines that human conflicts also have severe and deadly implications for animals. If we can help them, we will,” said FOUR PAWS veterinarian and mission leader Dr Amir Khalil.
The FOUR PAWS Rapid Response team has extensive experience in emergency animal rescues across conflict and disaster zones. The team has evacuated animals from zoos in the Gaza Strip, Syria, and Iraq. Most recently, they rescued almost 50 wild animals from a Sudanese zoo right at the center of the civil war and evacuated 15 lions to safety outside of the country. The team has provided disaster relief for stray and farm animals in Turkey and Syria following the devastating earthquakes and helped in Ukraine after the outbreak of the war in 2022. Previously in Lebanon, FOUR PAWS conducted an emergency relief mission in 2020 after a devastating explosion in Beirut, providing help for overcrowded shelters. At the same time, the team also helped relocate two Syrian brown bears, affectionately named the “Beirut Bears” to a species-appropriate sanctuary in the U.S. in 2021.
FOUR PAWS is hopeful the organization can make a difference for the lives of stray animals and pets in Lebanon as well as their human caretakers.
FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organization for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need, and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organization advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy, and understanding. FOUR PAWS’ sustainable campaigns and projects focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats, and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam, as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.fourpawsusa.org