A scandal is gaining momentum in Georgia after 24-year-old judoka and Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri posted a video on Instagram with a small lion cub in the front seat of a car, UNN reports citing Novosti Georgia.
According to media reports, the athlete did not provide any explanation as to how he got the lion cub.
Zoo director Zurab Gurielidze suggested that it could only have been smuggled into Georgia.
"This is not a zoo cub, we don't have any cubs at all now, only adults," Gurielidze said.
According to him, the customs could only let the lion cub through with a special permit from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, a so-called SITA certificate is required. Importation of wild animals, especially endangered ones, is possible only for scientific purposes, the zoo director said.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection of Georgia did not comment. There is also no comment from the customs office on whether the lion cub was imported into Georgia. Bekauri himself does not answer journalists' calls.
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A lot of angry comments have already appeared on the athlete's Instagram page . Users are very disapproving of the video with the lion cub. They call the athlete ignorant and call on animal rights activists to intervene.
"... rascal! What kind of reaction did you expect to get from watching a video of a lion driving a Porsche...?! And what do you animal rights activists say, excuse me?!" reads one of the comments under the video.
According to Article 302 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. of the Criminal Code of Georgia, the group's illegal export, import, re-export of species falling under the International Convention on the Conservation of Wild Flora and Fauna is punishable by imprisonment for two to four years.