South Africa
Anger over lion cub's euthanasia─── 07:48 Fri, 06 Dec 2019
There's been an outcry after a four-month-old lion cub called Simba was euthanised in Cape Town.
The animal was rescued by the police's Stock Theft Unit from a house in Athlone in August and was considered as evidence.
It was handed to CapeNature, which put it down on the same day.
The group says while it was a difficult decision to make, this was in the best interest of the cub and of conservation.
Police say their Stock Theft Unit has opened a case because it wasn't consulted about the euthanisation beforehand.
CapeNature says it's not aware of a criminal case.
The group claims it considered all other options, but says releasing Simba into the wild wasn't possible because the animal was raised in captivity and was too tame.
"The guidelines provide guidance in terms of if it’s possible to find a place here it can be rehabilitated, and placed back in the wild. Once again we do not have rehabilitation centers anywhere at this stage who can do that. And as I pointed out, this was to a large extent a tame wild animal,” CapeNature Executive Director: Conservation Operations, Dr Ernst Baard said.