Troubled New Zealand wildlife park euthanises two lions

In a Facebook submit earlier this week, Ms Vallance mentioned property house owners Bolton Equities had initially made the “difficult decision” to euthanise all seven massive cats on the sanctuary following their final weekend of commerce.

In that assertion, she famous that the animals have been all between 18 and 21 years outdated, and that there have been “no real options left”.

“While [the property] could potentially continue as a lion park under new ownership, such a future would require not only the purchase of the land but significant capital investment,” she wrote.

After the primary two lions have been euthanised, Ms Vallance shared a second assertion, the place she acknowledged important backlash from the general public, a lot of whom have been pleading for the remaining 5 lions to be relocated.

She wrote that the park had “thoroughly investigated options” for the remaining lions, however mentioned that relocation was not a “viable or humane option” due to the age of the animals and their “complex needs”.

Ms Vallance added that following their preliminary submit, there had been a “glimmer of hope”.

“A few individuals have expressed interest in purchasing the facility and continuing to care for the lions. While the timeframe is short and the situation remains uncertain, we are doing everything we can to explore this possibility and keep hope alive,” she mentioned.

New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) instructed the Guardian that the choice to euthanise the cats lay with the house owners, and that it had been knowledgeable of the plan.