Circus Lions Rescued in Peru

By early next year Jan Creamer, co-founder and president of Animal Defenders International (ADI), intends to see 30 lions rescued from circuses in Peru and Colombia running free in a permanent new home in Colorado.

London-based ADI, which is dedicated to stopping animal abuse and saving animals in distress, now has 21 African lions and ten monkeys in a temporary holding facility outside Lima.

The Peruvian animals will be joined by nine lions being held in a facility in Bucaramanga, Colombia. ADI took custody of the lions when a circus surrendered them voluntarily ahead of implementation of a ban on wild animals in circuses. All will be taken to the Wild Animal Sanctuary near Denver.

At ADI’s urging, Peru and Colombia recently passed circus animal bans. Implementation is under way in Peru and will begin in Colombia next year.

Creamer and her international staff investigate animal abuse in circuses they suspect of cruelty or subpar conditions. They then publish their findings and push for regulatory change.

Since ADI’s first circus undercover investigation, in 1992, the team has succeeded in getting nationwide bans on the circus use of certain species of wild animals in 27 countries, including Belgium, Colombia, India, and Taiwan.

They’ve achieved local bans in ten more countries, among them Australia, Chile, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Creamer continues to advocate for additional regulatory bans, and in the coming months she intends to target more countries in Latin America, as well as the U.K. and the U.S.

Passage of these initiatives can take years. In the United States, Creamer says, ADI has been involved since 2011 in advancing and helping draft the proposed Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act (TEAPA).

The act, which aims to amend the Animal Welfare Act, would restrict the use of wild animals in traveling circuses. ADI has provided scientific, legal, and empirical evidence to show the need for the bill and gathered support from members of Congress and the public. TEAPA will likely be reintroduced after Congress reconvenes in January.

Once a ban is in place, ADI helps governments implement the new law and solves problems, such as what to do with the mistreated animals.

Spirit of Freedom

ADI’s rescue operation in Peru, called Operation Spirit of Freedom, is the second largest of its kind. The largest, Operation Lion Ark, also carried out by ADI, removed 29 lions and other animals from nine circuses in Bolivia in 2009, after animal acts were banned there.

In Peru, ADI tracked down four of the country’s six traveling circuses: in Huaral, two hours outside Lima; in Ayacucho, a 19-hour journey across the Andes; in Cusco, 35 hours over the Andes; and near Arequipa, more than 24 hours from the capital by road. The remaining two are believed to have shut down.

ADI and Peruvian authorities raided the circuses, seized the animals, and transported them to the temporary holding facility.

In addition to the circus lions and a circus spider monkey, the ADI facility is caring for nine monkeys rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. Two tigers (believed to be hidden in a private home) and three lionesses, identified as belonging to circuses during ADI’s investigation phase, have not yet been located.

Because the bans apply to the use of big cats in entertainment, and not their ownership, circus owners sometimes try to keep them. Peruvian authorities are trying to find the two tigers and three lionesses, and ADI has asked people to be alert to sightings.

In February 2015, ADI plans to transport the animals to the Colorado sanctuary, where they’ll spend their final years. The delay allows time for ADI to obtain travel permits, do health checks, build crates, and get the animals fit for their 3,000-mile cargo flight.

None of the lions can be released into the wild. Not only have they spent their whole lives with humans, but they’ve been declawed, making it impossible for them to fend for themselves or catch prey. Many also have broken teeth from workers smashing them in the face to “discipline” them.

Speaking via Skype from the temporary holding facility outside Lima, Creamer explained how six performing lions were rescued from the Cusco circus: two adult males, Rey and Smith; two adult females, Amazonas and Kiara; and two 11-month-old cubs, Scarc (male) and Mahla (female).