Rescued lions from Albanian horror zoo arrive at new home
FOUR PAWS brings Lenci, Zhaku and Bobby to Dutch Big Cat Centre FELIDA
International animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS has successfully transferred three male lions from their temporary home at Tirana Zoo to an animal sanctuary in the Netherlands. The three male lions, Lenci, Bobby and Zhaku, were rescued in October 2018 during a spectacular rescue mission from the notorious Safari Park Zoo in Fier, Albania. After years of suffering in unsuitable conditions, the lions can now finally begin a dignified and better life.
On May 7, the lions started their journey from Tirana Zoo to Nijeberkoop in the Netherlands, where the FELIDA Big Cat Centre is located. The FOUR PAWS team travelled for 52 hours and almost 3,000 kilometres to bring the lions to their new home.
Lenci, Zhaku and Bobby are doing well after their long journey, cautiously exploring their new surroundings with curiosity. Veterinarian Marc Gölkel from the Leibnitz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) was part of the initial rescue team in October 2018, and again accompanied the transfer from Tirana to ensure the well-being of the animals. Prior to their departure, Gölkel gave the go-ahead for the journey after a short medical examination.
Spectacular rescue from 'Europe’s worst zoo'
From December 2015, FOUR PAWS investigated the Safari Park Zoo in Fier several times, but it was not until October 2018 that intervention was possible. Photos from inside the zoo showed the terrible conditions the animals had to live in.
International media dubbed the Safari Park Zoo 'Europe’s worst zoo' and 'Zoo from hell'. After an international outcry, the Albanian government decided to confiscate all wildlife from the zoo with the support of FOUR PAWS. The rescue of the animals proved to be extremely demanding, but the experienced team was able to free eleven animals from the small, dirty concrete enclosures and bring them to safety. Today, all the rescued animals have found new homes at different sanctuaries.
Ioana Dungler, Director of the Wild Animals Department at FOUR PAWS, was responsible for rescuing the lions from Safari Park Zoo.
A home for traumatised big cats
The FOUR PAWS Big Cat Centre FELIDA in the Netherlands operates as a special care centre for physically and mentally traumatised big cats. The big cats that recover from the hardships of their past can then be transferred to the FOUR PAWS Big Cat Sanctuary LIONSROCK in South Africa. Others might need lifelong special care and stay at FELIDA permanently. With the arrival of Lenci, Bobby and Zhaku, two tigers and six lions currently live at FELIDA.
Elise Burgess
Head of CommunicationsM: 0423 873 382
FOUR PAWS Australia
GPO Box 2845
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Main Phone: 1800 454 228
FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them.
Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, animals in fashion, farm animals, and wild animals – such as bears, big cats, and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones.
With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA, and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.four-paws.org.au