A group that calls themselves Animal Defenders International (ADI) rescued a grand total of 33 lions in 2016 and placed them inside of a protected animal sanctuary where they can live out their days, but a recent breach into the animal sanctuary will leave lion-lovers both disturbed and upset.
According to several news outlets, at least two of the lions housed in the animal sanctuary have been brutally slaughtered in what looks like some kind of a “ritualistic” behavior. The animals were skinned and the head, limbs, and tail have all been severed from the bodies of the two creatures.
The two lions that perished were known as José and Liso, and it’s particularly unfortunate that they went out this way given the fact that these two lions had a long history of a hard life as circus animals in South America before they were rescued by ADI.
Image Credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Circus animals are often subjected to torture and starvation in order to train them for an act. When they don’t perform as expected, they are trained to expect pain, and so they will perform harder the next time they’re called upon.
There aren’t any leads in terms of who carried out the brutal lion killings, but local law enforcement is on the case. The animal sanctuary was reportedly guarded and patrolled at the time, so investigations into how infiltration was possible are ongoing.
ADI has over two decades of experience in relocating rescued animals to sanctuaries where they can live in peace while being fed both meat and water, and this is reportedly the first time the group has ever seen such heartless behavior carried out in an animal sanctuary.
In the wild, outside of the animal sanctuaries, lion slaughters are quite the common sight, as their pelts are quite valuable in a host of Asian countries. Unfortunately, where the demand is high enough, supply will find a way to populate the goods.
Although it was an unfortunate and unnecessary loss of life, it was also a double-whammy that the two lions’ lives were cut short in the one attempt to save them from such a bitter life and circus performers.
Source: CBS News
