Longleat Safari & Adventure Park Longleat Safari Park News 2014

No need to call the fire brigade.

The moment the biggest of cats got stuck up a tree at Longleat (and rescued themselves) | Western Gazette

 

Just came across this article and wondered what people thought:

Outrage as lioness and cubs who were the pride of Longleat are put down leaving staff in tears | Mail Online

 

this is unbelievable why kill the lions?

 

Its not unbelievable, it happens quite frequently in the Safari parks with large numbers of Lions- they still let them breed as cubs are a good attraction, and then they get too many, they start fighting, they need to cut the numbers down, no one else wants them so in the offseason with few visitors or the Park is closed, some are PTS. The real mistake is when they get found out and its splashed all over the newspapers as here.

 

Well said Pertinax I agree with everything that you have said 100%.

 

Another case of stupidity over informed reading!

That zoo keepers or former employees should have been interviewed is the kind of line I really find difficult to believe. That emo mumbo jumbo is really not on! I know zoo staff care for their charges and quite rightly so, but will also understand the various policies and ethics involved in conservation breeding. It is bad enough for them to be dragged into this gory debate by the animal welfarist mob.

People seem to forget that if lions are not wanted or surplussed elsewhere that population management comes into play. Besides in the wilds some of these cubs would not survive. When becoming sub-adults males will be pushed out of the pride and they have to fend for themselves. A very difficult time for them and also then some lions do not make it.

In zoos we do not have the wilds play out this card so much and animals often live a longer more comfortable life than in the wild and thus at times we have to make the not so easy decision to perhaps choose to euthanize individual animals.

 

I am speechless that you call this debate "stupidity", Kifaru Bwana.
Euthanizing healthy zoo animals is a controverse topic and even if you have personally no problem with it, you should show a little bit of respect to other people`s opinions instead of calling everyone who has concerns stupid and "animal welfare mob". The lions euthanized here are all subspecies hybrids and the need for euthanasia could have been easily avoided by birth control. Since these hybrids have zero value for conservation, zoos should stop breeding them anyway!!

 

I am not in the least speechless or surprised by this poster's remarks, I cannot recall ever enjoying anything that this person has posted on here. I agree with you 100% Yassa, if there were more people like you in the zoological world, it would be a much better place.

 

Statement from Longleat today regarding the allegations made...

We too have see the article which appeared late last night in the Daily Mail online and have the following statement which we very much hope will explain the claims made: 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.

 

This statement is complete ********. The "40% increase in population" could have very easily been avoided if the management had installed proper birth control. Lions are so fertile that population management by birth control is absolutely necessary unless you want to euthanize a dozend or more healthy young lions EVERY year!! I hope very much that this outcry will force Longleat and similar parks to change the way they manage their big cats. Allowing hybrid lions to breed freely is totally irresponsible. Every owner of a pet cat could tell you that.

 

It's curious that we have a thread about culling surplus non-pedigree Lions at one UK collection, following a debate about the best way of creating more space for purebred endangered Asiatic Lions at another.

We still have a long way to go before every big cat in the UK is relevant to captive breeding purposes.

 

A further Statement released by Longleat this evening:

We understand that many of you will have been affected by the news that appeared late yesterday evening. Below is a full statement which we hope will help you to understand our reasoning:

The lioness Louisa arrived at Longleat in 2011 as an 18-month-old cub.

At the age of 13 months, at the collection where she was previously held, Louisa exhibited neurological clinical signs which were thought to have been caused by inadequate nutrition leading to hypovitaminosis A.

This was treated at the time but never fully resolved itself and she continued to exhibit clinical signs of head tilt and tremors throughout her life.

Despite suitable nutrition these neurological signs were present in her cubs, which were clearly distinct from other litters in the pride as they all individually exhibited adverse neurological signs such as ataxia, incoordination and odd aggressive behaviour that were not considered normal or appropriate compared to other animals within the collection.

Reviewing the genetic lineage of Louisa and her cubs it was found both Louisa's parents exhibited relatively high levels of inbreeding, prior to arrival, at a grand parentage level and great-grand parentage level (in some cases grandparents and great grandparents being the same animals).

Further reviews of the pathology of related animals revealed a high level of brain tumours, which had not previously been reported in lions, as well as a general failure of normal neurological development.

Longleat has never seen these problems in the many other cubs born here over the years and has an extremely good nutritional programme meaning that dietary inadequacies have never been an issue.

The only consistent link with all these neurological developmental disorders has been Louisa and this was attributed to her confused and poorly managed genetic history prior to her arrival at Longleat.

Longleat believes it would not have been responsible to translocate these animals to another collection, nor would any responsible zoological collection accept this particular group of lions, with the known high associated risks of neurological disorders and other genetically related health issues being passed on to later generations.

After considering the pressures in the group, due to the recent increase in pregnancies, and the developmental disorders present in the cubs it was reluctantly decided that euthanasia was the responsible option for these individuals.

Henry was a separate case, and his injuries were a result of aggression from both his brother and Louisa, who attacked him on the 7th January.

His wounds were severe, and despite veterinary review and management, it was decided euthanasia was the only humane option on welfare grounds.

These decisions involve communication with all of our current staff, management team and with independent external ethical reviews undertaken to ensure we are consistent with best practice.

 

Nothing to do with uncontrolled breeding, but medical reasons for putting some of the lions down (which really had something to do with genetics and quite significant inbreeding levels).

 

So there was certainly some uncontrolled breeding if there has been a 40% increase. The Lions that were actually put down were presumably chosen for the medical reasons they have stated (cull out the worst first) but it would seem that if '21 Lions were at risk' that they still had(or have) an overcrowding problem. It might be better for them to address this with efficient contraception rather than have this sort of bad publicity again- it sticks however genuine the reasons were.

 

Noahs Ark have there say over Louisa:

Some of you have asked us about Longleat's lion Louisa, who lived at Noah's Ark for a year before moving to the safari park. We hope this helps.

LONGLEAT'S LIONESS, LOUISA

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm was saddened to hear on Saturday that Louisa the lioness and her cubs at Longleat had been euthanased due to apparent health problems.

Louisa came to Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm as an 8 month old cub from Linton Zoo in Cambridge in February 2010 and was rehomed at Longleat in January 2011.

Louisa was requested by Longleat to become part of a new pride being established at the safari park.

Longleat have explained that Louisa was exhibiting neurological behaviours which left them no option but to humanely euthanase her and her cubs which were also suffering from the same condition.

Louisa wasn’t bred at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm but had some health issues as a young cub prior to arrival and during some of her stay which were effectively controlled through a special diet under the direction of specialist vets and her symptoms alleviated.

On leaving us in 2011, Louisa was in good health and her medical records transferred with her.

Looking back at Louisa’s genetic history, the underlying health issues Longleat found may be the result of inbreeding 15-20 years ago. These historical issues predate the Louisa’s time at Longleat, Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm and Linton Zoo and are no reflection of the standards of care given at the parks.

Longleat have significant experience caring for and breeding lions so we are confident they have made these difficult decisions based on expert guidance and have the best interests of their animals at the centre.

Our sympathies are with Longleat’s staff and Keepers during this difficult time.

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm has two lion brothers Zulu and Masai, Louisa’s brothers, at our park. Both are healthy, fit animals and are not suffering from the problems Louisa experienced.

 

The two males at Noah's Ark evidently should never be allowed to breed either then.

 

I still don't get a few things.

Longleat's own statement says that Louisa started to exhibit ill healthy before she arrived at Longleat which had never resolved. So why decide to breed from her?

Also it's been said that after looking back they realised some 'high' inbreeding at grand parent and great-grandparent level. Now I'm not a zoologist by any means, but that doesn't seem that far back in her ancestry so how come that wasn't spotted when she was selected for breeding? Surely the checks that are done to ensure they are not mating related two animals goes as far as grandparents?

Plus even with good reason for putting these animals down there was still clearly a failure of contraception as a 40% increase in population is more than the 6 lions.

 

These are very good questions.

I think the answer is that Longleat simply had to get rid of some lions because they ran out of space because they just didn`t care enough to control the population by birth control. And now they try to wiggle their way out of a public relations nightmare with statements about genetic health, animal welfare and "population increase". Which is just rubbish if you look at the facts. Responsible population managment for animals as fertile as lions and as difficult to place in good zoos as hybrid lions means very strict birth control. Which didn`t happen here, not at all. The rest is a consequence of irresponsible management policies. No birth control means way too many lions, which means you either need to kill the surplus animals or sell them to animal dealers, circusses or third world countries.

The lioness was obviously healthy enough to give birth and raise her cubs - I can`t see any reason why she or her cubs are better off dead now. Unless you take the overcrowded enclosure into consideration, of course...

 

maybe she wasn't selected for breeding, contraception can fail. it's never 100% unless they neuter her, which I'm guessing is overly intrusive and expensive - cost enough to get my own pets done!

 

A victory for social media, then, and a sharp lesson to Longleat not to insult the intelligence of their public. Had they announced this when it had happened, they would likely have garnered much public sympathy. Even releasing this as soon as the story got out would have avoided many articles criticising them in the shadow of the Copenhagen story. Its interesting that they threw Noah's Ark under the bus without clarifying that the lioness wasn't bred there.

Of course, the above explanation may still be a distortion of events in the minds of whoever leaked the story to the press, but it at least shows the logic behind such a decision. I understand the difficulty of announcing euthanasia prior to it taking place; there are bound to be offers of rehoming, but transparency immediately after the event would have been wise. This isn't to say that rehoming wouldn't have been appropriate - lions with some degree of handicap are not suited to large prides in reserves, but could live out a decent quality of life in a smaller collection. Plus, 'public interest' stories make exhibits that people want to come and see (YWP lions being a prime example).

It would have been wonderful to have seen Longleat work in tandem with another collection (perhaps Noah's Ark, Linton, or even Dartmoor) to rehome such an animal, coordinating press releases so that the rationale behind the move is clear, the alternatives are explained, and potentially even generating a lot of public interest/revenue for overseas conservation work in the process (Samira the injured lion cub at Port Lympne being a good example of good press coming from a bad situation).