The Hindu : Jungle kings languishing in cages

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 04, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Jungle kings languishing in cages

By P.Oppili

CHENNAI MAY 3. They are supposed to be the kings of jungles. But, for a star-crossed bunch of four lions, abandoned by a circus company in the dusty small town of Sattur in Virudhunagar district, life could not have been more miserable. Confined to cramped caravan enclosures for nearly seven months now, these `kings' eat even vegetable wastes thrown into the cages by casual visitors!

Volunteers of the People for Animals (PfA), who visited Sattur on Saturday, said the most feared members of the cat family were not even able to move their bodies, for they had been kept in an undersized cage.

The big cats, Ganesh (35), Raja (24) along with two lionesses, Rita (8) and Geetha (12), belonged to the King Bharat Circus Company. When State Wildlife authorities decided to retrieve possession of the animals, the company obtained a stay from the Madras High Court in September 2001.

Antony Rubin, PfA volunteer, said more than the feed and the enclosures, it was the place in which the animals had been kept that sent shocks down one's spine. Neither the district administration nor the wildlife authorities has taken any serious effort at keeping the animals in a place away from the public gaze.

Already, thousands of villagers have visited the place to see the caged lions, and "if, by accident, they break the enclosure and come out, it will be a catastrophe for residents," he says.

Talking about the health of the animals, the volunteers said while Ganesh was blinded in one eye, Raja's majestic tooth had been removed, leaving it grappling with the feed. The lionesses were in no better condition. They too were kept in a cramped enclosure and were unable to move freely. They must either sit or stand in one position.

If the animals are kept in such small enclosures for a long time, they would develop boredom, leading to acute physical and psychological problems, say the wildlife experts. As far as the feed for the lions and lionesses, the circus authorities left behind one person with little money. Consequently, the animals are not fed with beef or mutton.

The volunteers and wildlife enthusiasts alike feel that the animals should immediately be brought to the Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre for Circus Animals near the Vandalur Zoo here. They could be returned to their owners or rehabilitated at the centre itself, depending upon the outcome of the litigation.

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