A MAN was mauled to death by his pet lion in southern Iraq, just days after bringing the animal home in hopes of taming it in his garden.
The victim, 50-year-old Aqil Fakhr al-Din, was known locally for keeping lions and other wild animals on his property for years, according to police.
Mufid Tahir, a spokesperson for local police, told Rudaw news outlet, “Today in a garden in the city of Kufa in Najaf, a citizen was attacked by a lion in his own garden and died immediately.
“The lion had eaten a large portion of the man’s body, and because the lion refused to leave the remains, we were forced to shoot and kill it.”
According to local TV reports, the victim’s neighbour intervened before authorities came, shooting the lion seven times with a Kalashnikov rifle and killing it.
Al-Din was immediately taken to Al-Sadr Medical City Hospital in Najaf but did not survive due to the severity of his injuries.
A clip of the lion lying dead in the garden went viral on social media, sparking outrage over the man’s ability to keep the animal in his garden and raising concerns about Iraq’s lax rules on private ownership of exotic wildlife.
Al-Din had bought the lion to raise and tame it at home, local reports claim.
Iraq has long struggled with illegal wildlife trafficking, driven by a strong market demand along with years of weak law enforcement.
In the absence of effective regulations, hunters and smugglers continue to capture and trade rare species.
