Freed Circus Lions Begin A New Life In Africa

Dozens of lions have been airlifted to South Africa to begin a new life in a wildlife sanctuary, after suffering years of ill treatment in Latin American circuses.

The roars of the 33 lions filled the cargo terminal of an airport in Johannesburg, where they were loaded onto trucks to continue their journey to a 5,000-hectare reserve.

Most of the animals would be unable to survive in the wild because they are in a poor physical state, so they will be cared for by humans and supplied with food, drinking pools and toys - as well as ample bush to roam around freely.

"These animals were taken from the wild and they have lived a life of absolute hell," said Jan Creamer, head of the charity which saved the lions from illegal attractions in Peru and Colombia.

"They have been beaten, they have been starved, they have been deprived of everything that makes life worth living for a lion."

She explained how some of the cats had their claws removed and their teeth smashed with steel pipes while they were in captivity.

One of the lions is almost blind, and another is missing an eye.

As the lions have no conservation value, and some are inbred, there will be a strict no-breeding policy at their new home.

Despite this, it will be the first time that many of the lions have had direct physical contact without being separated by a cage or a fence.

Animal Defenders International, which led the effort to return the animals to their ancestral home, said the transfer was the largest airlift of lions in history.