Longleat kill six healthy lions

Lioness and cub in South African wild

Following on from this morning's news that Copenhagen Zoo killed a healthy giraffe that was 'surplus' to their requirements, it has now emerged that Longleat Safari Park in the South West of England have had six of their lions, including four young cubs, killed.

Less than a week after being voted Best Large Visitor Attraction in the South West, a whistleblower apparently told the Mail on Sunday that adult male Henry, female Louisa, and four of her cubs were all put down for no obvious reason. Many staff who worked closely with the animals were not aware of the plans until after their deaths and were left devastated.

Longleat have blamed the need for the deaths on a sharp increase in their lion population numbers, which in turn led to an increase in violence in the pride, putting some of the lions at risk.

One of the world's leading big cat experts John Knight is quoted as saying "‘Most zoos have a contraceptive programme in place and manage to control populations perfectly well. That’s why this seems a bit odd, in a way. It’s just not a problem that most zoos experience."- which brings into question not only this incident, but the killing of the giraffe at Copenhagen Zoo, which revealed that that zoo puts down 20-30 healthy animals a year due to overbreeding.

The following statement appeared on Longleat's Facebook page in response to the predictable abuse:

"Firstly, we do not and will not ever put down any of our animals unless their health is very much at risk and even then it is only because we would have exhausted all other options. In regards to the lions, there has been a large increase in pregnancies, resulting in a 40 per cent increase in population. This has unfortunately resulted in excessive violent behaviour, putting 21 of them at risk.

Sadly one lion, Henry, had to be put down earlier this year due to injuries from an attack within the enclosure. The further lions referred to were put down due to associated and severe health risks. Following these incidents, five lions from this enclosure are to be moved to other premises. Longleat takes the utmost care in trying to protect the welfare and safety of all our animals."

However, this seems to leave two large questions unanswered; firstly, why were they unable to transfer the lions to another zoo, safari park or breeding programme? The BBC are reporting that five other Longleat Lions are being moved to other premises- why was the same not down for these lions?

 Secondly, and most importantly, how was this situation of lion overcrowding allowed to happen in the first place? Other zoos, London Zoo included, use contraceptives on their lions - they have to, to prevent inbreeding when members of the same family live side by side. Why were Longleat not using the same procedures?

What adds insult to injury is that the park, which was closed for the winter at the time of the lion deaths, uses the "Lions of Longleat" heavily in their promotional material. Star of the show one day, cast aside the next.