"Everyone travelled pretty well. They only had airline food and they
are looking forward to a good meal now," said Jan Creame
A former
circus lion looks from inside his cage while preparing for
transportation to a private sanctuary in South Africa, during an airlift
organized by Animal Defenders International in Callao, Peru, April 29,
2016.
A group of 33 lions rescued from circuses in Peru and Columbia arrived by plane in Johannesburg on Saturday to begin a new life in the African bush.
The
final destination for the animals, which were flown in on a chartered
cargo flight, will be the Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary, a 5,000 hectare
reserve on a private estate in South Africa's northern Limpopo province.
Cleared
by a state vet, the cats grunted and roared as the crates containing
them were loaded onto trucks for the last leg of their journey by road
several hours north of Johannesburg.
"Everyone travelled pretty well. They only had airline food and they are looking forward to a good meal now," said Jan Creamer, president of Animal Defenders International (ADI), which organised the rescues and the airlift operation.
ADI
said 24 of the cats had been taken from circuses in Peru, part of a
menagerie of over 100 animals rescued with the help of Peruvian
officials cracking down on illegal wildlife trafficking.
Bears,
monkeys and other wildlife scooped up in the operations in Peru have
been transferred to sanctuaries in the South American country and a
tiger has been flown to Florida. The nine lions from Columbia were
voluntarily surrendered from a circus.
ADI said both countries have banned the use of wild animals in circuses.
The
lions would not survive in the African wild as many have been declawed
or have had teeth smashed or removed, one is almost blind and another is
missing an eye.
"At their new home at Emoya
Big Cat Sanctuary, the lions will enjoy large natural enclosures
situated in pristine African bush, complete with drinking pools,
platforms and toys," ADI said in a statement.
"The
lion habitats will be steadily expanded over the coming months as the
lions become familiar with their new life and are introduced to each
other," it said.
إرسال تعليق