Cookie use on MRCVSonline
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies.
Accept Policy
Change cookie settings
EmailIphone Application    Posted: 2018-07-10
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.
Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

Abused lion cub gets forever home at sanctuary
“To be able to welcome King to his new home is incredibly heart-warming for us.”

King was kept as a ‘pet’ in a Paris apartment 

A young lion cub kept in appalling conditions in an apartment in Paris has been relocated to a big cat sanctuary, the Born Free Foundation has announced.

The one-year-old cub, named King, was rescued last summer after distressing images shared on social media showed him being kicked and beaten by an unknown man in France.

Members of the public notified the authorities, who launched an investigation. King was found in an abandoned apartment, half-starved and cowering in a small dirty cage.

Initially, he was nursed back to health at the Natuurhulpcentrum rescue centre in Belgium, before being transported to his permanent home in South Africa. He will now spend the rest of his days at the Big Cat Rescue Centre, Shamwari Private Game Reserve.

Born Free’s co-founder Virginia McKenna said: “I am sure there will be a lot of smiling faces today! So many people responded to our appeal to bring young King to Shamwari, and now he has arrived!

“Thanks to everyone whose hearts were touched by his story, he now takes his first steps on African soil, and can begin his happy new life. May it be a long and peaceful one.”

Joe Cloete, general manager of the Shamwari Group, added: “To be able to welcome King to his new home is incredibly heart-warming for us.”
 
Born Free said King’s story before he was rescued highlights the plight of millions of captive wild animals that are kept as pets around the world.

Head of animal welfare and captivity, Dr Chris Draper, said: “It is staggering that, in 2018, lion cubs are still finding their way into the pet trade in Europe. We are concerned that King’s case is the tip of the iceberg, and that a great many wild animals are being kept illegally as pets across Europe and elsewhere.

“This situation needs to be addressed urgently, and we hope that by introducing the world to King – his plight, his rescue and his rehoming to lifetime care – Born Free can draw attention to this important issue.”

Image © NHC

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Report: A third of Welsh birds are in decline

News Story 1
 A report by RSPB Cymru and partnering ornithology organisations has revealed that a third of bird species in Wales are in significant decline.

90 per cent of Wales is farmed and there is now pressure to implement new land management policies that will aid in nature restoration.

Patrick Lindley, Maritime Ornithologist for Natural Resources Wales, commented: “The problems that confront UK birds, whether they are breeding or non-breeding, are pressure and threats that confront entire ecosystems.

“Birds are a great indicator to the health of our environment. The continued population declines of birds of farmed, woodland and upland habitats suggest there are large geographic themes that are having a detrimental impact.”  

Click here for more...
News Shorts
British sheep meat to be exported to India in new agreement

The UK government has secured a new export deal of sheep meat to India.

In 2017, UK sheep meat exports were worth £386 million. This new agreement is predicted to increase this value by £6 million over the next five years.

With a range of meat cuts due to be exported, the deal is seen by international trade secretary, Dr Liam Fox MP, as “another vote of confidence in our world-leading food and drink”.