A MAN was mauled to demise by his pet lion in southern Iraq, simply days after bringing the animal residence in hopes of taming it in his backyard.

The sufferer, 50-year-old Aqil Fakhr al-Din, was identified regionally for protecting lions and different wild animals on his property for years, based on police.

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Mufid Tahir, a spokesperson for native police, advised Rudaw information outlet, “At present in a backyard within the metropolis of Kufa in Najaf, a citizen was attacked by a lion in his personal backyard and died instantly.

“The lion had eaten a big portion of the person’s physique, and since the lion refused to go away the stays, we had been pressured to shoot and kill it.”

In keeping with native TV reviews, the sufferer’s neighbour intervened earlier than authorities got here, capturing the lion seven occasions with a Kalashnikov rifle and killing it.

Al-Din was instantly taken to Al-Sadr Medical Metropolis Hospital in Najaf however didn’t survive as a result of severity of his accidents.

A clip of the lion mendacity useless within the backyard went viral on social media, sparking outrage over the person’s potential to maintain the animal in his backyard and elevating issues about Iraq’s lax guidelines on personal possession of unique wildlife.

Al-Din had purchased the lion to boost and tame it at residence, native reviews declare.

Iraq has lengthy struggled with unlawful wildlife trafficking, pushed by a robust market demand together with years of weak regulation enforcement.

Within the absence of efficient laws, hunters and smugglers proceed to seize and commerce uncommon species.

Falcons from Iraq’s southern plains are among the many most sought-after animals, particularly resulting from their worth within the Gulf’s falconry traditions.

Within the mountainous and distant areas of the Kurdistan Area, smugglers additionally goal a variety of species together with wild birds, foxes and reptiles.

Many of those animals are bought in native markets or trafficked throughout borders to wealthier consumers in neighbouring nations.

However uncommon and unique species are additionally smuggled into Iraq and the Kurdistan Area from different components of the world.

These animals – starting from African primates to Asian large cats – are bought in black markets or displayed in personal collections, typically with little regard for animal welfare.

Regardless of Iraq’s ratification of the Conference on the Safety of Animals in 2014 – which goals to control world wildlife commerce – unlawful trafficking stays widespread throughout the nation.

It comes as zoo employee was killed by a kangaroo after he was reportedly “roughhousing” with it.

Eric Slate, who was the brother of the petting zoo’s proprietor, was discovered overwhelmed up at 5-Star Farm close to Loris, South Carolina, based on police.

The employee’s actual reason behind demise remains to be unclear, however the native councilman Dennis DiSabato confirmed a kangaroo was straight concerned within the killing.

Slate’s corpse was found simply after midnight on Saturday, with the kangaroo nonetheless in the identical enclosure.

South Carolina has a few of the most lenient legal guidelines within the US in the case of unique animal possession.

In contrast to many different states that require permits, licenses or ban sure species altogether, South Carolina imposes minimal restrictions.

In addition to South Carolina, there are solely two different states within the US the place individuals can buy a pet kangaroo and not using a allow: Wisconsin and West Virginia.

Within the absence of stricter guidelines, unique pet incidents, together with escapes and assaults, stay an actual risk.

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