The head of a wildlife NGO has ruffled the feathers of animal lovers worldwide after a shocking video surfaced of him throwing cake in the face of a rescued lion during a party held to celebrate the big cat’s birthday.
Blend Brifkani, CEO of the Kurdish American Cooperation Organization, had posted the video to his Instagram to celebrate the birthday of Leo, a lion he rescued as a cub. While Brifkni has since deleted the video, a copy of the clip was circulated by Middle East Monitor on Friday.
In the video, Leo can be seen lying indoors and surrounded by several men squatting on the floor. Closest to Leo is Brifkani, who proceeds to smash a chocolate cake on top of the unsuspecting lion’s head and sending it into a frenzy much to the crowd’s enjoyment.
Leo is visibly confused by the ordeal and can be seen frantically trying to remove the cake from its face and jumping on furniture in a bid to escape the crowd of onlookers. Later in the clip, the lion is seen lying on the floor while an unidentified man provokes the cat by harassing him until he responds.
The video has sparked a stampede of fury from animal lovers online, prompting Brifkani to apologize on Instagram for his actions. “I have never intentionally intended to abuse Leo,” the CEO said, adding that he had come to see Leo as his best friend. Maintaining he wasn’t an animal abuser, he promised that Leo is “safe” and “will soon return to the wild.”
However, commentators were quick to point out that returning Leo to the wild without him being integrated to survive by himself was dangerous and accused Brifkani of only apologizing because of the outrage. Others hoped Leo would be sent to a safe environment.
“He can’t return to the wild no more, but he sure can’t live on your couch as well. You should contact those who are able to take good care of him and raise him in a safe environment.”
It’s not the first time Brifkani’s efforts at wildlife conservation has backfired. Last year, the release of two bears in Iraqi Kurdistan didn’t go as planned after the bears attacked people attending their release, injuring a photographer.
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