Elsa the lioness saved from 'living in misery'
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 27, 2014
International wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation and Italian animal welfare organisation LAV (Lega Anti Vivisezione) have announced that Elsa, who shares her name with the iconic lioness in the classic film ‘Born Free' starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, is in the process of being rescued from her unbearable existence in a ramshackle circus in Sardinia -- Circo Martin (Martin Circus).
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Elsa the lioness |
Elsa, who is believed to be around six years old and in relatively good health despite her terrible living conditions, is in the process of being moved by land and sea to a spacious temporary sanctuary in Tuscany, where she will remain until she is able to be permanently rehomed at Born Free's Big Cat Rescue Centre in South Africa. The complex operation to transport Elsa to Tuscany, where she can start the first stage of her new life, is being overseen by a team of wildlife experts from both organisations.
Alongside Elsa, there are a number of other wild animals which will also be rehomed. These include a pygmy hippo, a common hippo, camels, highland cattle, zebra, llama and a macaw. An adult African Elephant named ‘Baby' will be rescued from a second location in Sardinia in a separate operation. Although unable to provide a new home for all the animals which will be seized, Born Free will work with other wildlife organisations such as LAV to ensure they will be placed in new homes which offer a vast improvement to their quality of life.
Born Free's Daniel Turner, Senior Programmes Manager for Zoo Check, who uncovered Elsa along with a number of other captive wild animals which have also now been rescued, said: "When I walked up to the barren enclosure, which was essentially just a circle of iron bars within a concrete car park, I was struck by the inadequacy of the dismal conditions this lioness was living in. When told that she was called Elsa -- 'like in the Film Born Free' -- I quite literally had a shiver down my spine, especially as this year marks thirty years since the Foundation was established."
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