This is an excerpt from an article written and published online by SA People News on 03 October, 2021
Thirty captive lions on a private breeding farm in the Free State, South Africa, have had to be euthanised after the farm owner apparently left them suffering for days after wildfires had ravaged the area. Details issued by the Bloemfontein SPCA of the scene they discovered in the Glen/Brandfort district are harrowing and heartbreaking.
Unable to escape the blazing flames, the lions must have endured unimaginable pain and fear. The SPCA said it’s one of the worst things to happen to an animal and that this is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty they have ever witnessed.
The Bloemfontein SPCA was at the forefront during the recent wildfires to assist farmers with relieving horrifically injured animals from any further suffering. For days after the fires, the SPCA searched the area for injured animals.
It was whilst on-site at farms in the Glen district – where grazing and land were destroyed – that the SPCA came across the captive, breeding lion farm. Their suspicions were raised by the owner’s refusal to allow them to enter his land, even though blazing flames had “destroyed most of the farmland… especially the enclosures where the lions were kept”.
In a newsletter on Sunday evening, the SPCA alleged: “The owner knew the lions got injured by the fires. For 5 days they didn’t administer any medical treatment. We had no option, but to obtain a warrant to enter the property.
*WARNING – GRAPHIC IMAGES*