WATCH: African lion ‘Mannie’ finds freedom at sanctuary savannah home
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The African lion was confined to a small theme park enclosure for years – until animal lovers like YOU helped.
© The Lions Foundation
The six-year-old African lion was finally flown from a Dutch amusement park to the Lion Foundation sanctuary in South Africa. Thank you for your wonderful support!
Be an animal friendly traveller
Right now, captive wild animals are being exploited for profit and entertainment. Will you be an Animal Friendly Traveller?
Donate to protect lions
Right now, vulnerable lion cubs are being torn from their mothers and exploited for financial gain, human entertainment, or traditional medicine.
What is Mannie the African lion’s story?
Like most lions exploited in wildlife entertainment, Mannie was kept in a small, isolated enclosure in a theme park called ‘Mondo Verde’.
There, the African lion was surrounded by the loud noises of rollercoaster rides. Adding to his misery, Mannie was not allowed to interact with others of his kind.
How did World Animal Protection help Mannie the lion?
Mannie's story came to light when Bite Back, an animal rights group, raised serious animal welfare concerns about the Dutch theme park he was being kept at, and successfully negotiated the African lion's freedom.
World Animal Protection then brought Mannie’s situation to the Dutch Government’s attention and worked with Bite Back to ensure he got a second chance at life.
Mannie was then safely relocated to the Lion Foundation sanctuary in South Africa where the grass stretches for hectares and the air is filled with the sounds of nature, not machinery.
Why should you never see animals in entertainment?
Most people are unaware of the pain animals in entertainment endure in captivity. As a result, they unknowingly fund animal suffering by buying tickets to captive wildlife venues.
But thanks to kind-hearted people like you, the tide is turning against exploiting animals in entertainment.
