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The animal protection and welfare law has been approved by the Lebanese joint committee of ministers! For those of you who follow Animals Lebanon on social media, you know that the situation of our furry friends in Lebanon is pretty bad. With no law to protect them, people can get away with animal abuse.

Animals Lebanon

, an animal protection organization in Lebanon, works on improving the state of animals. The team of Animals Lebanon does not only rescue animals and take care of them, but also work on creating a law that protects animals and endangered species. And guess what? Their hard work has finally paid off! May 4, 2017 marks the day when the Lebanese joint committee of ministers finally approved the Animal Protection and Welfare Law. You can read it

here

in English or Arabic. It still needs to go before the full parliament before it is enacted and considered an enforceable law. Jason Mier, the executive director of Animals Lebanon, told The961 that he doesn’t expect resistance from the parliament. He continued that ” there are competing priorities, yes there are things that are more pressing and urgent, but this law is also important and necessary.” Mier said that “the Ministry of Agriculture was supportive, the Cabinet was supportive, the joint committee was supportive. To u, it is a question of ‘when’, not ‘if’.” According to the organization, “this law can help return Lebanon to its position as a regional leader in animal welfare and finally make animal abuse illegal.” The campaign started 6 years ago. Here is its timeline:

Campaign Launch: November 2011

Ministry Review: January 2012

Public Comment: February 2013

Council of Ministers Review: October 2014

Approved by the Council of Ministers: February 2015

Approved by the Parliament: May 2017

Enactment: pending

During the campaign, Animals Lebanon created a petition that needed 25,000 signatures. Although the law has been approved and the goal of 25,000 signatures has been reached, the petition will remain open until the law is enacted. So you can sign now. Spread the word, and make sure to

sign the petition

! If you want to contribute more, you can join the team, volunteer, or donate! Take action!