Baby Loris Saved From Being Sold Illegally At A Pet Shop In Lebanon; Animals Lebanon Came To The Rescue

Five months after being rescued from a pet shop in Lebanon that was planning to sell her for $2000.00, a baby loris is now settling into her new home at an animal sanctuary in the UK.

The loris, now named Nora, marks the first endangered animal to be confiscated under the country’s first animal welfare and protection law that was enacted in August of last year.

“As soon as we knew about this helpless Loris being sold in a local pet shop, we immediately contacted the Ministry of Agriculture and asked for the law to be applied,” Animals Lebanon explained on its Facebook page. “Within half an hour of our call, the Ministry staff were at the pet shop and confiscation took place.”

Animals Lebanon gained custody of Nora and this week, members of the non-profit, accompanied her to the UK and her new forever home at Monkey World, a “fully-equipped sanctuary where hundreds of primates are being cared for.”

“On August 24th, Animals Lebanon and Dr. Alison Cronin, Director of Monkey World, escorted Nora to the beautiful sanctuary. British Airways sponsored the entire trip and got special permission so we can take little Nora in the cabin with us,” noted an update on the organization’s Facebook page yesterday. “Nora is safe now and we are following up on the court case to make sure this does not go unpunished.”

Monkey World, which assists governments around the world to stop the smuggling of primates from the wild, also took to social media to share the news.

“This infant was confiscated from a Beirut pet shop by the Lebanese authorities after being illegally smuggled from the wild,” noted a post on Monkey World’s Facebook page. “Animals Lebanon cared for the infant, and with the help of British Airways and IAG Cargo, Monkey World safely transported Nora to the park to meet her new family, the resident Bengal slow loris group.”

The case has been moved to the courts for prosecution, with the offender facing up to two years in prison and fines of up to $33,000.00.

As per People’s Trust For Endangered Species, the slow loris is now among the world’s top 25 most endangered primates. Tragically, it is estimated that the population has suffered a decline of at least 80% over the last 24 years.