A 50-year-old man in southern Iraq was killed and eaten by his pet lion just a few days after he bought it to keep in his backyard.
The terrible event happened in Kufa, Najaf. “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,” said Mufid Tahir, a police spokesperson.
He also said the lion had eaten a large part of the man’s body and would not move away, so they had to kill it.
The victim, Aqil Fakhr al-Din was said to have been keeping lions and other wild animals in his garden for years.
On Thursday, the lion suddenly attacked him and killed him.
A neighbor saw what happened and shot the lion with a Kalashnikov rifle. Reports say the animal was hit seven times and died. But by then, it was too late. The man was taken to a hospital, but he had already died.
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Pictures showed the man lying in a hospital bed covered in blood. An investigation is now looking into what happened.
Photos of the dead lion in the backyard has gone viral online. Many people are asking how the man was allowed to keep such a dangerous animal at home.
Reports say he bought the lion to raise and tame it.
In Iraq, illegal wildlife trade is still a big issue. Years of conflict, weak law enforcement, and a high demand for rare animals make it easy for smugglers. Many animals, like falcons and foxes, are taken from the wild or brought into the country to sell illegally.
Even though Iraq joined a global animal protection agreement in 2014, the country is still a major place for trading wild animals, both local and foreign.
This sad story follows another case last year, when a man working at a zoo was killed by lions after entering their cage to try to impress his girlfriend.
