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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think that lions shouldn't be shot and killed in these circumstances

22 replies

BrizzleMint · 05/03/2019 19:00

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47454610

The Czech was keeping lions illegally and not allowing authorities on to his land, he'd take the lioness on a leash for walks which resulted in a cyclist colliding with her; the police put it down as an RTA. He'd been using them for illegal breeding as well but the authorities couldn't take them away because there was no evidence of cruelty and there weren't alternative facilities for the lions in the country.

He's now been killed by one of the lions and both animals were shot so his body could be recovered. I think it's disgusting to kill the animals - he'd gone in the cage and locked himself in and knew the risks.

OP posts:

BarbarianMum · 05/03/2019 19:16

What do you think should have happened to them? There's a glut of captive bred lions, so unlikely any reputable zoo would want them.

GregoryPeckingDuck · 05/03/2019 19:20

As opposed to what? What exactly were they supposed to do with them?

Original poster

BrizzleMint · 05/03/2019 19:31

Anything would have been better than killing them because of the incompetence of the human apparently looking after them.

OP posts:

Lifecraft · 05/03/2019 19:48

Anything would have been better than killing them because of the incompetence of the human apparently looking after them.

Maybe they should have dumped them in your garden then, if no one else wanted them. After all, anything is better than killing them.

Original poster

BrizzleMint · 06/03/2019 01:03

Why should they be killed through no fault of their own?

OP posts:

lljkk · 06/03/2019 02:12

It's wrong but I don't know if there's a better outcome human beings can organise. Are you willing to set up a lovely refuge for unwanted captive bred big cats, OP? Can you pay for all transport costs to get the animals to you?

pantsville · 06/03/2019 02:15

I think it's terribly sad that the lions were shot, however I imagine the costs of tranquilising, transporting them and arranging them to enter a refuge must have been too high. Of course OP isn't going to set up a refuge in her garden but refuges for animals do exist and if the circumstances were different this could have been an option.

MrsTerryPratcett · 06/03/2019 02:36

Lions are expensive to keep and these ones have been treated badly and one's a man eater. Not a great prospect for any zoo.

FrogOfFrogHall · 06/03/2019 03:41

It reads to me as though they couldn't get close enough to be sure the man was dead so they shot the lions so that they could go in to rescue him/check his vitals and at that point he was confirmed dead. And this would have presumably been treated as an emergency situation so perhaps there was no time to obtain tranquillisers.
It does seem ridiculous that the authorities just gave up on removing the lions before this incident though.

BlackCatSleeping · 06/03/2019 03:54

Of course it’s shit, but you’re not suggesting any viable alternative.

LellowYedbetter · 06/03/2019 14:36

I agree 100% with you OP. Every single day I become more angry and disillusioned with human beings.

AnxietyDream · 06/03/2019 14:41

I imagine the costs of tranquilising, transporting them and arranging them to enter a refuge must have been too high.

Not to mention that you would have had to had people with all the specific equipment and skills to do this on hand.

It's not great that this happened, but I'm glad no untrained/I'll equipped human being was expected to try and deal with this very obviously unsafe situation. Would you have been happy to risk your life dealing with lions in homemade cages?

tattooq · 06/03/2019 15:02

The issue is people keeping these sorts of animals as pets. They are not domestic animals and cannot be tamed. It's sad that they were shot, but there will have been no other option for them. There isn't space in zoos for them, and they can't be released into the wild or a safari park or whatever, so it's probably kinder that they are gone and no longer in captivity.

DGRossetti · 06/03/2019 15:07

I'm tending towards the OP ... I think it's terrible when animals - particularly rare ones that the world could do with more of - end up being killed as a direct result of humans ...

On these shores, Dudley Zoo ended up killing a snow leopard that had escaped because of a human mistake

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-46398647

What irked me a tad about the Czech story was the reason given ... they shot the lions to be able to retrieve the body of the idiot who decided to keep them ...

Sadly I suspect that even if the poor beasts had escaped being shot on site, they wouldn't have had a longer life anyway. It's unlikely they'd be welcome at a zoo or safari park, and they couldn't be released into the wild.

BarbarianMum · 06/03/2019 16:40

A refuge? What refuge? Where?

CuriousaboutSamphire · 06/03/2019 16:46

It is terrible. I doubt anyone would disagree.

But what are the real alternatives? Specifically what else could possibly have happened?

They had to be dealt with somehow. Retrieving his body or not, they couldn't just be left in there forever.

He set up a situation that was never going to end well. The police/authorities did what was ismpest. The lions lived and died purely because of his actions.

You can decry t all you like, but unless you want to take them in, there were no real life alternatives.

ILoveMaxiBondi · 06/03/2019 16:53

It was very possibly the kindest outcome for the animals. Strangers coming in, handling them, sedating them, transporting them, and resettling them into new homes can be really traumatic. And that’s even if there is a suitable home for them. If not, they’re looking at being kept in unsuitable conditions. These are animals that were raised in confinement. That brings with it paychological damage. These animals weren’t living a good life.

Confusedbeetle · 06/03/2019 16:53

Yes, none of this should have happened but it did. The lions would not be able to be released or rehomed, what do you suggest? Sometimes concern for animals welfare can be very misplaced.
You are so wrong thinking anything is better than killing them. Reminds me of people who dump urban foxes in the countryside, thinking they will do very well and have a happy. Humans have a responsibility to make harsh choices sometimes. These lions had no life and no prospect of anything more than suffering. Their lived were already ruined

TheIncredibleBookEatingManchot · 06/03/2019 17:00

It's sad, but probably the only thing that could be done.

I doubt many zoos would take on lions that had attacked their keeper, and having been bred in captivity they would never survive in the wild.

missbattenburg · 06/03/2019 17:02

The cruelty is not the shooting of the lions. It's the keeping them as pets to start with. That's where the real wrong was done.

Billballbaggins · 06/03/2019 17:05

It’s a shame but was the only thing they could do, they didn’t even know if the guy was dead at the time so had to quickly get to him. Tranquilising animals takes a lot of skill, time and money and is risky for the animal and people involved. It’s not as easy as many people think it is. Plus where would these animals go? What zoo would want or even have space for them? Unfortunately it seems killing them was the ‘best’ thing that could be done. Not saying it was right, it’s not the lions faults this idiot kept them and that this happened obviously.

lljkk · 06/03/2019 21:54

imho, the cruelty is how bad humans are at sharing the planet with other creatures. We destroy their habitats, drive them out of their homes, consume their resources, drive them to extinction.

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