Egypt’s Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad stated on Thursday that legal procedures would be taken against a satellite TV channel for filming a trip to hunt wild animals without a permit, a statement by the ministry said.

Fouad was referring to Al-Nahar TV network which aired an episode on Wednesdayshowing a fox hunt in a controversial episode of the show Sabaya Al-Kheir, hosted by TV presenter Reham Said.

Social media users were appalled by footage shared from the latest episode showing a group of hunters, alongside the show presenter, catching a small fox in a way described as "merciless."

A few hours afteranimal rights supporters stirredan uproar on social media due to the episode, the television network removed the episode and apologised in an official statement.

Though Said has stressed that the hunters in the episode had the necessary permits to hunt, the minister said in Thursday’s statement that they did not.

“No permits for hunting were given to individuals or parties to film a wild animals hunting trip,” Fouad was quoted as saying in a statement by the ministry, adding that the ministry would take legal action against the parties involved.

According to the statement, Fouad explained that Egyptian laws and international agreements concerned with the conservation of biological diversity include standards and controls for preserving natural resources.

She noted that article 28 of the environment law prohibits dealing with Egyptian wildlife unless getting a permit from the Environmental Affairs Agency, the statement added.

The ministry urged all people to preserve biological diversity, as it is a right for future generations and the basis of life on Earth.

Egypt presided over the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

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