Lebanon: Pets increasingly abandoned as owners fear they can transmit coronavirus

W/S Cats on street, Beirut
M/S Cat on street
C/U Cat and pet food
W/S Local wearing face mask passing by cat
W/S Cats roaming the street
M/S Sign of Animals Lebanon organisation
SOT, Maggie Shaarawi, vice-president of Animals Lebanon (Arabic): "When coronavirus started spreading in Lebanon, there were rumours that the animals could infect humans. This is not true. We are following the WHO which confirms that, to this day, there is no evidence that these animals transmit the disease. The World Health Organisation for the Animals also says that the infection is transmited from human to human. There are no studies stating the opposite and I appeal to all people to listen only to these sources."
M/S Cats at Animals Lebanon
M/S Cats at Animals Lebanon
C/U Cat at Animals Lebanon
SOT, Maggie Shaarawi, vice-president of Animals Lebanon (Arabic): "The love and sympathy we have towards animals is what drives us now to carry on our work in the field. We tried to change the way we collect donations through reaching out to the international community, we are trying as much as possible on social media pages to collect donations online, many people outside Lebanon sympathised with us because the situation in Lebanon is bad. But some people in this bad situtation also donated."
M/S Kitties playing at Animals Lebanon
M/S Cat in cage at Animals Lebanon
SOT, Maggie Shaarawi, vice-president of Animals Lebanon (Arabic): "Currently, adoption is increasing due to the fact that people are committed to not leaving their houses. Cats get adopted more than dogs because cats demand less responsibility, like not having to leave the house three times a day, but the adoption rate is now high and this is good because the abandonment rate is also high. That helps us to continue and I want to thank the people who are temporarily or permanently adopting, as well as those donating online because without the donations we can't carry on."
M/S Animals Lebanon reception desk
C/U Cat next to receptionist wearing face mask
M/S Animals Lebanon door closing
M/S Cat on street
M/S Cat on street
W/S Clowder of cats on street
M/S Cat licking itself
W/S Tower in Beirut
SCRIPT
Cats were seen roaming the streets of Beirut on Wednesday, amid an increase in pets being abandoned by their owners on the streets of Lebanese cities after a TV network reported on Saturday that the animals could transmit COVID-19 to humans.
The report by Murr Television has been taken off social media after experts and animal activists dismissed the claim as false. After a dog was tested "weak positive" in Hong Kong, the World Health Organisation has announced that there is "no evidence" that cats and dogs can spread coronavirus.
"The World Health Organisation for the Animals also says that the infection is transmited from human to human. There are no studies stating the opposite and I appeal to all people to listen only to these sources", said Maggie Shaarawi from the NGO Animals Lebanon.
"The situation in Lebanon is bad," Shaarawi added.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) corroborated the WHO by reportedly stating that "there's no reason to think pets might be a source of infection."
Animals Lebanon has claimed that, on top of the fear of being infected with the novel virus, people are also abandoning their pets because the costs of keeping them have risen substantially due to the ongoing economic crisis.
There are 463 confirmed cases of people infected by COVID-19 in Lebanon and 12 deaths.