Rescued Circus Lions Will Taste Freedom On Memorial Weekend

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Wire services

Rescued Circus Lions Will Taste Freedom On Memorial Weekend
posted by: Sharon Seltzer 5 hours ago

Four neglected lions that performed in the Bolivian circus will be spending Memorial Weekend as VIP’s in their new retirement home at the ARK2000 Sanctuary. They are the first of the animals to be freed and transported out of the country since Bolivia enacted a ban on circuses from using animals in their acts.

The New York Times reported, the journey for these kings of the jungle was organized by, Animal Defenders International (ADI). The lions will all retire in a specially built habitat at the northern California sanctuary, which is run by the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).

“Hopefully, these lions are going to have a really nice Memorial weekend – home in time for the holiday,” said Tim Phillips, the co-founder of ADI.

The lions left by jet from Cochabamba, Bolivia, at 6 a.m. on May 27, will refuel in Panama and land in San Francisco in the afternoon. A reception is planned in their honor at San Francisco International Airport when they arrive.




Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-welfare/blog/rescued-circus-lions-will-taste-freedom-on-memorial-weekend/

[xchrom]

1. Thank you. Nt

[Judi Lynn]

3. Bolivia banned circus animals last year, and Bob Barker made this trip possible for these guys.

Very good news all around! :bounce:

[xchrom]

5. Wow - bob barker is amazing. Nt

[Faygo Kid]

6. Kudos to Bob Barker. $450,000 is nothing to sneeze at.

Quite a donation.

AH-CHOO!

[Judi Lynn]

2. Rescued Bolivian Lions Arriving in San Francisco, California,

May 25, 2010 04:29 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Rescued Bolivian Lions Arriving in San Francisco, California,
Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 3:30 P.M. PDT; CSI Actress Jorja Fox to Greet Lions
--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Animal Defenders International:

WHAT:
Animal Defenders International Press Conference/Rescued Bolivian Lion Arrival

Four lions rescued by Animal Defenders International (ADI) following the groundbreaking 2009 ban on Bolivian circus animals are scheduled to arrive at San Francisco International Airport via TAB Airlines on Thursday, May 27, 2010 at approximately 3:30 p.m. PDT. The lions will then travel to the ARK2000 sanctuary in San Andreas, California, run by the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) where they will be released into a wonderful new natural habitat the following day. The lions, first to be saved as a result of the ban, have lived their lives in a rusting cage on the back of a truck. They will be touching down in paradise, where for the first time they will feel the grass beneath their paws and have freedom to roam as they choose. CSI actress Jorja Fox will be participating in the rescue operation which was funded by TV personality Bob Barker. Fox and other ADI personnel are available to brief media about the operation and journey from Bolivia in advance of the arrival. Spanish spokespersons are also available.

More:
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100525007135&newsLang=en

[Omaha Steve]

4. K&R!

[glinda]

7. Wonderful news!

[KT2000]

8. Some great news!

Thanks go to PAWS and ADI.

[roguevalley]

9. awesome. PAWS has our elephant, Maggie. They have web

cams and you can watch the animals. Its wonderful. At last, a good story today.

[LeftyMom]

10. PAWS does amazing work.

[Thor_MN]

11. Why does the headline make me think of feeding conservatives to them?

Maybe it's the now largely unused Metrodome. Fills empty seats, gets the lions some protein, gets rid of blowhards. Win, Win, Win.

[Judi Lynn]

12. The pride of San Andreas:..... four lions taste freedom for the first time

The pride of San Andreas
On the grassy hills of Calaveras, four lions taste freedom for the first time

By Dana M. Nichols
Record Staff Writer

May 29, 2010 12:00 AMSAN ANDREAS - Four lions freed from a Bolivian circus frolicked Friday amid clover and oak trees on a hillside at the Ark2000 refuge not far from San Andreas.

It was the first time the three males and one female had ever walked on grass or seen the open sky except through the bars of a cage, said representatives of Animal Defenders International, the organization whose campaign prompted Bolivia to ban the use of animals in circus acts.

Newspaper photographers and television crews recorded the moment a few minutes after noon as "CSI" actress Jorja Fox pulled a metal handle to open a gate so the lions could walk out into several acres of woodland.

Nothing happened.

Initially, the lions ignored the open gate and continued to lounge on pine needles scattered across a cement-floored enclosure where they'd been since arriving about 3 a.m.

For several hours, that enclosure was more than enough for the animals, which had spent most of their lives in smaller cages.

"This morning, we let them out here, and they were bouncing all over," said Pat Derby, the Performing Animal Welfare Society executive director who oversees the Ark2000 refuge.

The cement-floored enclosures with several hundred feet of roaming space were more than large enough for the lions after a lifetime of being shuttled between the back of a truck and the performance ring of a circus, Derby said.

By noon - when news crews were on hand to watch the lions head outdoors - the four were tired. And apparently pleased to stay put.

Camba, the female, made the first move.

Some food lured her toward the open door. Still, she hesitated, went halfway out, then, at 12:19 p.m., finally found herself under nothing but blue sky and puffy white clouds.

More:
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100529/A_NEWS/5290324/-1/a_news