Qatar Airways Cargo has once again assisted Animal Defenders International, this time by transporting six young lions from the illegal wildlife trade to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in Johannesburg.  

Known as the "Kuwait 6", Qatar Airways Cargo said the males Muheeb, Saham, Shujaa, Saif, and females Dhubiya and Aziza were either seized or captured after being abandoned and cared for at Kuwait Zoo.

Animal Defenders International (ADI) was contacted by Kuwait government officials to help the lions, so ADI offered them a home at their 455-acre sanctuary in South Africa.

"We are proud to once again be supporting ADI, this time in bringing these six beautiful lions home to Africa,"  said Mark Drusch, chief officer of Cargo at Qatar Airways Cargo, noting the carrier's WeQare Rewild the Planet initiative — a commitment to returning wildlife and endangered species back to their natural habitat, free of charge.

"It takes a lot of effort and logistics for our team to organise moving such large animals; from the logistics at the airports, loading and unloading the animals from the aircraft to ensuring the correct cages and wellbeing of the animals are in place, but it is something we are all collectively very proud and passionate to be a part of," he added.

Jan Creamer, president of Animals Defenders International, added, "The Kuwait 6 lions have their whole lives ahead of them and will have acres of space at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. We are thankful to Qatar Airways Cargo and their WeQare program for once again supporting us by covering the cost of the air transport back to Africa."

Qatar Airways Cargo continues to reaffirm its commitment to animal welfare.

The cargo carrier recently opened its new state-of-the-art Animal Centre and relaunched its Live product, setting new benchmarks in the transport of live animals.

The carrier transported over 550,000 animals flown in 2023.