A Palestinian veterinarian holds down the head of the lioness “Falestine” after being declawed (SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

A lion in a Palestinian zoo has been declawed so that visitors can play with the animal.

The decision by Rafah zoo in Gaza, has been criticised by animal campaigners for being cruel and subjecting the animal to horrific pain.

Handlers at the zoo put a shroud over the head of the 14-month-old lioness, called Falestine, to allow a vet to clip the animal’s claws with a pair of shears.

The zoo said it wants visitors to play with the animal, even though it still has a full set of teeth.

View photos Palestinian children look through the bars of a cage at the declawed lioness Falestine (SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images) More

‘I’m trying to reduce the aggression of the lioness so it can be friendly with visitors,’ said Mohammed Jumaa, the park’s owner.

Fayez al-Haddad, the veterinarian who operated on Falestine two weeks ago, watched her closely thjis week as she was briefly taken out of her cage to be near visitors, including children.

‘The claws were cut so that they would not grow fast and visitors and children could play with her,’ Haddad said.

He denied it was cruel.

‘We want to bring smiles and happiness to children, while increasing the number of visitors to the park, which suffers from high expenses,’ he said.

‘(The lioness) does not lose its innate nature.’

View photos Palestinian veterinarian Fayyaz al-Haddad, reaches for the paw of the lioness ‘Falestine’, at the Rafah Zoo in the southern Gaza Strip (SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images) More

But one animal welfare charity, Four Paws, disagreed.

‘For big cats, removing the claws is a particularly vicious procedure which causes long-lasting damage.

‘Natural behaviour, such as grabbing food or climbing, is hardly possible without an animal’s claws. Since the amputation was not done in a proper vet clinic, the chance of infection is high.’

It added that removing a lion’s claws is the equivalent to amputating the fingers of a human up to the knuckle.



View photos Palestinian zoo workers hold up the lioness (SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images) More

The small zoo in Rafah was opened in 1999 and is in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, close to the border with Egypt.

From there the charity say wild animals are repeatedly smuggled through underground tunnels to and from Gaza.

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