Circus Lions’ First Freedom: Rescued Performers Raised In Captivity Taste Freedom For The First Time [Video]

Thirty-three circus lions that had spent the better part of their lives in captivity, living through what one observer called “Hell on Earth,” are enjoying their first tastes of freedom in a big cat sanctuary in South Africa, the Bonham Journal is reporting.

The lions had been kept in captivity as circus animals, performing in circuses in Colombia and Peru. However, once those two nations outlawed the use of wild animals in performances, the big cats were suddenly homeless. Fortunately, rescue group Animal Defenders International (ADI) was able to step in.

It took a while for ADI to raise the money to find homes for, and transport, the lions. In the meantime, as donations poured in, the lions were given slightly better living conditions, where they were allowed to at least stretch their legs for the first time, as well as get the veterinary care they had so long been without.

After raising the money and making all of the phone calls, ADI, through the help of Priority Worldwide Services, airlifted the 33 animals from temporary shelters in Lima and Bogota to their new home: the Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary, a 12,355-acre reserve in northern Southern Africa.

ADI President Jan Creamer said it was worth it.

“Getting the animals home has been exhausting and exhilarating.”

And how did the lions handle their halfway-across-the-world flight?

“They have had a long journey but they are surprisingly calm.”

Unfortunately, the lions won’t be able to be fully returned to the wild. Due to the abuse they suffered in captivity, according to La Kabylie, the lions wouldn’t be able to survive. Most of them have been declawed. Others have had their teeth broken or removed. At least one has lost an eye, and another is nearly blind.

“They have lived a life of absolute hell. These lions have endured hell on earth, and now they are heading home to paradise. They’ve been deprived of everything that makes life worth living for a lion.”

Because they won’t be able to hunt, the lions will live in a special enclosure that mimics their natural environment as closely as possible, while still allowing them to thrive. They’ll be fed game meat by their keepers, rather than having to hunt on their own. Their enclosure will also have raised platforms for the lions to jump on and rest on, as well as a watering hole.

Re-introducing the formerly captive cats to their new environment will take some time and effort. Because the lions were raised in captivity and don’t fully comprehend how to be lions, they’ll each be kept in their own enclosure for a while as they get used to each other.

Though circuses have traditionally employed animals as performers for as long as anyone can remember, animal rights activists paint a disturbing picture of what life is like for such animals, including lions, tigers, bears, and elephants, among others.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) describes the horrifying abuse circus animals endure, even in respected circuses such as Ringling Brothers.

“Bears, elephants, tigers, and other animals do not voluntarily ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, or jump through rings of fire. They don’t perform these and other difficult tricks because they want to; they perform them because they’re afraid of what will happen if they don’t. To force them to perform these meaningless and physically uncomfortable tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other painful tools of the trade.”

For the captive South American lions that are now free, they’re putting that life behind them. One of the rescued lions, Iron, did the most cat-like thing imaginable in his new home: he stretched out his paws and rubbed his head against a tree, the first time in his life he had ever had the chance to do so.

[Image via Shutterstock/7roman4]