Blend Brifkani, CEO of the Kurdish American Cooperation Organization, had posted the video to his Instagram to celebrate the birthday of Leo, a lion he rescued as a cub. While Brifkni has since deleted the video, a copy of the clip was circulated by Middle East Monitor on Friday.

In the video, Leo can be seen lying indoors and surrounded by several men squatting on the floor. Closest to Leo is Brifkani, who proceeds to smash a chocolate cake on top of the unsuspecting lion’s head and sending it into a frenzy much to the crowd’s enjoyment.

Leo is visibly confused by the ordeal and can be seen frantically trying to remove the cake from its face and jumping on furniture in a bid to escape the crowd of onlookers. Later in the clip, the lion is seen lying on the floor while an unidentified man provokes the cat by harassing him until he responds.

The video has sparked a stampede of fury from animal lovers online, prompting Brifkani to apologize on Instagram for his actions. “I have never intentionally intended to abuse Leo,” the CEO said, adding that he had come to see Leo as his best friend. Maintaining he wasn’t an animal abuser, he promised that Leo is “safe” and “will soon return to the wild.”
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