Photo of the owner of a lion cub, posted on Instagram and sent by Jason Mier.





Jason is American, but he spent many years living in Africa, where he worked in animal conservation. He moved to Lebanon in 2007. At the time, the country was a major hub in chimpanzee trafficking . Since then, Jason has continued his work from Beirut.





Jason Mier with a baby leopard that his NGO helped save.





Lebanese Internet users pose with newly bought lions on social media as if they were puppies. It's easy to find ads for wild animals on sites like OLX, the Lebanese equivalent of Ebay. A bear cub can sell for $6,000 while a baby tiger might be priced at $25,000. “Sales have skyrocketed in the last six months, but we don’t really know why,” Jason Mier, director of the NGO Animals Lebano n, told FRANCE 24. His group has been fighting animal trafficking for years.