Manama: A video clip showing Saudis pulling out young wolves from a narrow cave has sparked deep outrage online amid accusations they were destroying wildlife.
Three men could be seen crawling out of the tight mountainous cave bringing out the wolves and jubilating over their catch. One of the hunters said they caught a young wolf the previous day, Saudi news site Al Marsad reported on Monday.
However, their “prowess” was not shared by online users who accused them of spoiling wildlife and engaging in destructive activities. Some users suggested the hunters should be arrested and sent to fight in wars against terror to test their courage.
“They are totally crazy by venturing inside the cave where they could have been bitten by snakes,” a user writing under the moniker of Spontaneous, said. “They are just a show-off who want people to applaud their courage where we see none. They are totally reckless and taking huge risks for nothing.”
Tahtooh, another user, said that they should be held accountable by both the police and the environment authorities.
“They should not be allowed to get away with what they did. The video clip also showed a Kalashnikov, and they should be questioned about it as well,” he said.
Basma wondered about what the hunters would do with the wolves.
“It is really shocking they caught the young animals. I would like to know for what purpose they took such high risks and ventured inside such a narrow cave,” she said.
The Saudi Wildlife Commission, tasked with the preservation of the kingdom’s natural heritage, has regularly warned against abuses of animals and taken action against perpetrators.
In February, Saudis issued calls to help identify hunters who slaughtered two ibexes, the endangered wild mountain goats with long, thick ridged horns found in the Tabuk area in Saudi Arabia.
A picture of a slaughtered ibex with the hunting date splattered in blood on a rock next to it sent a shock wave across the social media in the kingdom and prompted the nationwide condemnation of the “barbaric act.”
Even the few online users who said that hunting was a right that should not be denied to anyone criticised the picture, saying it was a “totally unnecessary and appalling show-off”.
Several pro-environment online sites argued for the preservation of the ibex, explaining that it lived in some of the least hospitable terrains and that it could not represent any threat to people.
The sites said that it should not be difficult to identify the perpetrators, adding that the careful study of the pictures posted online and the monitoring of the posting would be crucial in finding them.
Most online users said that all efforts to identify the hunters should be supported, insisting that the pictures and the writing of the date of the hunt should be seen as a challenge to the environment authorities.
In September, the commission pushed for the identification and arrest of a group of young men who burnt a caged fox to death.
The act of torture was captured in a video clip that went viral on social networks and sparked wide condemnations and uncompromising calls for stringent action against the torturers.
The video showed the torturers pouring an inflammable substance on the fox inside a cage and burning him. One young man was heard as saying that they wanted to punish the fox for eating 30 chickens.
The commission, expressing deep shock, condemned those who “shamelessly violated all Islamic values and rules”.
“Such an act is totally against human nature and values, perpetrated by terrorists and criminals,” Prince Bandar Bin Saud Bin Mohammad, the president of the Saudi Wildlife Commission, said. “Their behaviour is exactly like what the members of the Daesh terror group are doing, killing without mercy. Torturing an animal to death is not and cannot be condoned by anyone who claims he is a Muslim. And filming this abominable act to show off makes our heart bleed and deeply disturbs everyone who respects life,” Prince Bandar said.
He said the torturers were not men.
“Manhood has specific standards and criteria. These are terrorists living in the dark. We must all stand against them because they have violated the basic values of humanity. Our religion has laid out very clear instructions on how to behave and deal with animals,” he said.
