Rescued lions arrive at Five Sisters Zoo in West Calder
Four lions have been transported to a West Lothian zoo from an animal sanctuary in Belgium, where they have been cared for since being confiscated from a French circus.
Five Sisters Zoo in West Calder raised £150,000 in an appeal to build a new two-acre enclosure for the male lions. They were seized by Belgian officials in May 2014 because the country forbids the use of wild animals in circuses. They have been living at a rescue sanctuary since then. The lions had their claws removed at the circus. The owners of Five Sisters Zoo travelled to Belgium to begin the process of transporting the animals. They arrived in West Calder in the early hours of Monday. The exact history of the lions is not known but they have no manes as a result of being castrated. It is thought they were born in captivity and sold to the circus at a young age. The circus was performing in the city of Liege, in French-speaking Belgium, when government officials seized a trailer and took the lions to a rescue centre. Five Sisters Zoo, which was hit by a fire in 2013, has already successfully re-homed three former circus bears after launching an appeal in August 2011. It has now constructed a large outdoor area for the lions with rocks, a waterfall, pool and platform areas and a large, heated indoor den. Zoo owners Brian and Shirley Curran, said they were extremely grateful to people who donated to its appeal. They said: "This has been an amazing and challenging journey, but we are extremely proud to have accomplished everything we set out to do and are forever grateful for the huge support from both near and far of the thousands of supporters who have helped make this possible."