An incident occurred near Rome, Italy, where a lion escaped from a circus and wandered the streets for a while, causing residents to panic.
According to Italian public broadcaster RAI, a lion suddenly appeared in a residential area in Ladispoli, a small city with a population of 42,000 near Rome, on the 11th (local time).
A male lion named Kimba, raised by a circus troupe that was scheduled to perform in the area the next day, escaped from its cage and moved to a residential area. Police first attempted to capture him near the circus around 3 p.m., but were unsuccessful. The lion was shot with a tranquilizer gun but escaped.
Accordingly, Ladispoli authorities issued an alert and ordered residents to refrain from going out. Mayor Ladispoli sent an urgent message saying, “A lion escaped from the circus. “Please exercise extreme caution and avoid traveling until further guidance is given.”
However, many residents encountered or witnessed lions. Images of the lion taken by residents were shared on social media and became a hot topic. Some residents who had gone out were trapped in their cars for hours, shaking in fear.
The lion, which was wandering around a residential area, was shot a second time with a tranquilizer gun at around 8:30 p.m., but ran away again, and was eventually caught by the police at 10 o’clock, ending a seven-hour chase. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but residents were terrified as the lion roamed the streets.
In a video posted on social media, a male lion can be seen wandering between parked cars in a dark residential area. This incident sparked controversy again about the abuse of circus animals in Italy. Some residents protested to the mayor, asking, “Why did you allow an animal circus?”
Mayor Alessandro Grando Ladispoli said on social media, “I did not give permission, and I had no power to stop it,” and said he hoped this incident would serve as an opportunity to end animal exploitation in circuses. A local animal protection group also said, “We hope that a law will be introduced to ban circuses with animals.”
On the other hand, Ronnie Vassallo, an animal trainer at the circus, insisted that 8-year-old Kimba was not a threat to people. “Kimba met people in an unfamiliar environment, but nothing happened to her and she had no instinct to attack people,” Vassallo said.
Meanwhile, in Europe, more than 20 countries ban circus tricks by animals. In Italy, a related law has also been passed by parliament, but has not yet been implemented.
Song Chi-hoon,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.