Egypt’s Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said on Thursday that legal procedures would be taken against a satellite TV channel for filming a trip to hunt wild animals without a permit.
According to a statement by the ministry, Fouad was referring to Al-Nahar TV network which aired an episode on Wednesday showing a fox hunt in a controversial episode of the show Sabaya Al-Kheir, hosted by TV presenter Reham Saeed.
Social media users were shocked by footage shared from Saeed’s latest episode showing a group of hunters, alongside the show presenter, catching a small fox in a merciless way.
A few hours after animal rights supporters stirred an uproar on social media against the episode, the television network removed the episode and made an apology in an official statement.
The Egyptian minister refuted Saeed’s claims, saying the ministry had not given any permits to the hunters prior to the episode.
“No permits for hunting were given to individuals or parties to film a wild-animals hunting trip,” Fouad said in the statement, adding that the ministry would take legal action against all the parties involved.
The minister explained that Egyptian laws and international agreements concerned with the conservation of biological diversity include standards and controls for preserving natural resources.
According to an article 28 of the Egyptian environment law, it prohibits dealing with Egyptian wildlife unless getting a permit from the Environmental Affairs Agency, the statement read.
During the episode, Saeed embarks on a trip to hunt wolves and foxes. The show presenter appeared observing how wolves and foxes hunted and tied together to prevent any escape.
Among the comments on the episode: “They went to the desert to hunt [animals] in their environment, and she is telling people it’s an easy job…The scene of the fox, and the sound of its moan is really heartbreaking.”
Saeed worked with Al-Nahar TV from 2012 to 2018, when the controversial host went into retirement after she came under fire for making insulting remarks against obese people.
