A New Zealand wildlife park has been forced to cull two of its lions, following the park’s closure amid continued financial difficulties.
The privately owned Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary, located in the northern city of Whangārei on New Zealand’s North Island, has been for sale since August.
The sanctuary said they had been left with no choice when it came to the aging big cats, which they said had “serious health conditions that were not treatable and were deteriorating.”
The fate of the five remaining lions on the property is still unclear, but park operator Janette Vallance said they were exploring “all possibilities” in a statement shared on Facebook.
In a Facebook post earlier this week, Vallance said owners Bolton Equities had initially made the “difficult decision” to euthanize the seven big cats at the sanctuary after their final weekend of trading.
In that statement, he noted that all the animals were between 18 and 21 years old and that “there were no real options left.”
“While [the property] “could potentially continue as a lion park with a new owner, that future would require not only the purchase of the land but also a significant capital investment,” he wrote.
After the first two lions were euthanized, Vallance shared a second statement, where he acknowledged significant backlash from the public, many of whom were pleading for the remaining five lions to be relocated.
He wrote that the park had “thoroughly investigated options” for the remaining lions, but said relocation was not a “viable or humane option” due to the animals’ age and their “complex needs.”
Vallance added that after his initial publication, there was a “glimmer of hope.”
“Some people have expressed interest in purchasing the facility and continuing to care for the lions. While the timeline is short and the situation remains uncertain, we are doing everything we can to explore this possibility and keep hope alive,” he said.
New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) told The Guardian that the decision to euthanize the cats rested with the owners, and that they had been informed of the plan.
The wildlife sanctuary has been plagued by financial difficulties and controversies for the past two decades.
The zoo initially gained profile as the setting for a reality television show starring its founder, Craig Busch, known as the “Lion Man.”
In 2009, the park made international headlines after a rare white tiger beat a zookeeper to death in front of horrified tourists.
The then-named Zion Wildlife Gardens pleaded guilty to health and safety charges in relation to the caretaker’s death, and had to pay NZ$60,000 (£26,000) in reparations to his family.
The current owner, Bolton Equities, took possession of the sanctuary in 2014, shortly after MPI closed the park to the public for failing to meet requirements for animal enclosures.
It remained closed for seven years, before finally reopening in 2021.
However, just two years later, in 2023, it was placed into involuntary liquidation.
