The senseless killing and injuring of a readily trained iguana near Safa Park has resulted with violence amongst neighbours in the Jumeirah 1 area and ready in action Dubai animal advocacy group Friends of Animals to request authorities to open an investigation.

Moreover, On Friday, Dubai Police said they will investigate when they receive an official complaint.

To move ahead with the incident...

The pregnant female iguana, which neighbours say has lived in the park area unharmed for years, was laying eggs earlier this week when it was attacked by a group of youths after they had forced the animal to the ground at the corner of 55 street and the service road along Shaikh Zayed Road at Safa Park near Gate 5. Even an eyewitnesses declared that a man in the area at the time was also involved in the killing.

Quiet sadly, after the killing, the disembowelled body of the lizard was hanging from a tree but was later taken down and buried.

Incensed neighbours said the gentle green giants have always been peaceful additions to the Safa Park area and therefore the residents informed Montserrat Martin, founder of Friends of Animals, who has since requested a formal investigation from the Ministry of Environment and Water in Abu Dhabi on the grounds that the incident was illegal because cruelty against animals is prohibited under UAE law.

According to Martin, this particular incident serves as good example of mindless cruelty to animals and can help raise awareness to prevent such behaviour. While he also added that under the UAE Criminal Code, to harm an animal for no reason is a criminal offence and these are living animals and they deserve the respect of humans.

In fact, Martin who is a former employee with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the United Kingdom, said her organisation will legally pursue the matter with the proper authorities.

Likewise, a resident of Shaikh Ahmed Golden Villas, meanwhile, spoke of her anger in a written account of the incident sent to Friends of Animals.

The resident was reddish after her daughter witnessed the killing of the animal while on a walk with the family’s housemaid near their home and she said that her daughter witnessed all those present throwing stones and rocks at the iguana.

Fact-fully, it was alive and attempting to escape when one of the boys caught the animal by its tail and threw it. She saw the security guard pick up a very large rock and bring it down on the iguana. In fact, the stoning continued in spite her daughter’s cries for mercy while she shouted at them repeatedly to stop. When she was ignored, she ran home for help. She arrived home extremely distracted by what she had witnessed. When other neighbours heard of the incident, they ran to the scene to try and intervene.

The woman said when her neighbours arrived they chased the boys away but it was too late to save the animal.

According to the resident, having lived on the edge of the park for the last 11 years, they have had several sightings of these quiet, vegetarian lizards. They have lived peacefully here for years. They guess from the evidence that she had crossed the road to lay her eggs in the sand. Hey family, neighbours and she cannot get over the senseless and barbaric way this poor creature died and it leaves her absolutely disheartened thoroughly.

According to UAE Animal Welfare Law, it is illegal to kill any animal in a merciless way, to use slow death means or to cause the animal severe pain without any acceptable reason or rational justification. In fact, the Police said that the family who witnessed the killing of the animal should report it, adding that such behaviour is not acceptable while they also mentioned that anyone may report to the concerned authority about any violations of this law.

To conclude, the Police, the municipality or any other concerned authorities will investigate the violations and take the necessary action.

It's really mournful to hear this mindless cruelty committed by those criminals to the innocent animal.  They deserve an equally painful punishment, that much to make them behave like humans in their life ahead.

(AW:Samrat Biswas)