This devastating incident highlights the darker side of the captive lion industry, where profit is placed above animal welfare. Across the world, lions are bred, exploited, and sold under the guise of entertainment.
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Captive Lion Population Growth: In Thailand, the number of captive lions has risen by 239% between 2018 and 2024, reaching 848 individuals and 32 hybrids.
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Exploitation: Many of these lions are used as photo props, sold to hunting farms, or bred for the cub-petting industry.
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Animal Welfare Violations: Cubs are separated from their mothers too early, often malnourished, confined in tiny cages, and deprived of enrichment or proper care.
In South Africa, around 350 lion farms operate for trophy hunting, canned hunting, and the sale of lion body parts. The “cub-petting” business thrives on tourist money, with little awareness of the suffering it causes.
Our Fight for Justice
Wild at Life e. V. has been working tirelessly in South Africa and Turkey to expose and shut down these exploitative facilities.
In 2022, we traced the owner of the Antalya park back to Ankara, where we successfully closed his previous operation. Only months later, he reopened in Antalya. Our investigations revealed he owns at least three facilities in popular tourist regions. Inside, visitors pay to take photos, feed lions with a few grams of meat for €20, and are forbidden from taking their own pictures — a system designed for profit, not care.
What we found inside was heartbreaking:
filthy cages, starving lions, no grass, no shade, no enrichment, no water — only suffering. Many animals are left to die once they are too old for tourist interaction.
After Zeus’ desperate attempt to escape, we once again collaborated with authorities to push for the closure of the facility and legal action against those responsible. Sadly, the owner still operates two more parks, and we are fighting to prove his role in wildlife trafficking.
