Fourteen baby ostriches died at Beirut airport in Lebanon after arriving from Egypt, according to animal welfare organisation Animals Lebanon. Only one of the 15 chicks survived. She returned to Egypt by plane on Thursday.
Rescuers named the surviving chick Nehmat, meaning “blessing”. She returned to Egypt on September 17 after spending two weeks at the airport.
The birds arrived on September 3 without the required import approval. Authorities ordered their return, but they remained at the airport. Over the following days, they began to die, the organisation said.
Animals Lebanon first learned about the case on September 12, when someone reported that eight chicks had died. When the team reached the airport the next day, they found that 14 of the 15 were dead.
Together with Lebanese Wildlife, the organisation focused on keeping Nehmat alive and arranging somewhere for her to go.
Animals Lebanon said reports about the case raised concerns about the birds’ transport conditions, the care they received and the lack of a suitable airport facility to hold live animals.
The group is calling for an investigation into how the chicks died and what needs to change to prevent another case.
According to the organisation, an intervention by Lebanon’s agriculture minister, Nizar Hani, helped make Nehmat’s return possible.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theanimalreader.com
