KUWAIT CITY: It is doubted that how the lion, who attacked the maid who eventually died, how come came into the country and where it was being raised, and at which farm. The animal is said to be smuggled in the country.
Director of Public Relations at the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) Shaker Awwad said this happens in spite of the Law No. 17 of the year 1987 that prohibits the import of wild animals, including carnivores that pose a threat to human life, as well as reptiles and monkeys. He is of the opinion that these animals and reptiles are smuggled into the country.
For his part, Suleiman Abdul-Aziz Al-Fahd, supervisor at the General Administration of Customs at the Kuwait International Airport said the customs department is keen to prevent the entry of any kind of animals except after the approval of the PAAAFR.
He pointed out the hawks or dogs or cats have passports which allow them to enter Kuwait after passing through procedures such as routine veterinary quarantine to ensure they are safe and not carriers of any disease.
Meanwhile, the General Department of Investigation has issued a decision to put behind bars the keeper of the lion for 10 days following the death of the Filipino housemaid inside his house in Doha when she was attacked by the lion. The department has ordered him referred to the Central Prison. He is charged with negligence.
The daily added, his brother has been detained at the Qairawan Police Station for assaulting investigation men and resisting arrest. The suspects’ father who was taken into custody for giving false information has been released.
It has also been reported the two doctors – a Syrian and the Egyptian – who were treating the maid before her death are accused of negligence and failing to report the incident to the authorities.
