Troubled New Zealand wildlife park euthanises two lions

A New Zealand wildlife park has been compelled to euthanise two of their lions, following the closure of the park amid ongoing monetary difficulties.

The privately owned Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary, positioned within the northern metropolis of Whangārei on New Zealand’s north island, has been up on the market since August.

The sanctuary stated that they had been left with no alternative when it got here to the ageing massive cats, which they stated had “serious health conditions that were not treatable and were deteriorating”.

The destiny of the 5 remaining lions on the property was nonetheless unclear, however park operator Janette Vallance stated they had been exploring “every possibility” in a press release shared on Facebook.

In a Facebook publish earlier this week, Ms Vallance stated 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 had been all between 18 and 21 years previous, 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 had been euthanised, Ms Vallance shared a second assertion, the place she acknowledged vital backlash from the general public, a lot of whom had been pleading for the remaining 5 lions to be relocated.

She wrote that the park had “thoroughly investigated options” for the remaining lions, however stated 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 publish, 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 stated.

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

The wildlife sanctuary has been affected by each monetary difficulties and controversy over the previous 20 years.

The zoo initially gained a profile because the setting to a actuality tv programme that starred its founder, Craig Busch, who was often called the “Lion Man”.

In 2009, the park made worldwide headlines after a uncommon white tiger mauled a zoo keeper to loss of life in entrance of horrified vacationers.

The then-named Zion Wildlife Gardens plead responsible to well being and security fees in relation to the keeper’s loss of life, and needed to pay NZ$60,000 (£26,000) in reparations to his household.

Current proprietor Bolton Equities took possession of the sanctuary in 2014, shortly after the park was closed to the general public by the MPI for failing to satisfy the necessities for animal enclosures.

It remained closed for seven years, earlier than lastly reopening in 2021.

However, simply two years later in 2023, it was put into involuntary liquidation.