Public Outrage At Plan To Euthanize Sylvester The Lion
At the end of March Sylvester the lion escaped for a second time from South Africa’s Karoo National Park. The escape resulted in authorities issuing a death sentence on the lion following his recapture. Rather unsurprisingly this did not go down well with the lion loving public. The last time Sylvester escaped he ended up killing 28 sheep, a kudu antelope and a cow before he was captured three weeks later. This time the damage is less extensive with only one cow being killed. However because of his antics South African National Parks (SANParks) thought it was best to put Sylvester down once he was recaptured.
Social media campaign launched
SANParks tweeted that the decision to put Sylvester down was not taken lightly however this failed to pacify animal rights activists and lion lovers who launched a social media campaign in response under the hashtag #savesylvester. This prompted a huge outpouring of support for the lion which was probably in part fuelled by the outrage caused by the killing of Cecil the lion last year in Zimbabwe. SANParks was unable to ignore public sentiment and backtracked, apologised and said their original statement did not reflect the organisation’s position.
All options being considered
SANParks is considering a number of options for Sylvester one of which does include euthanization because Sylvester has been declared a problem animal and a danger to humans. Other options including bringing Sylvester back to the park and then taking preventative measures such as improving the fencing. Alternatively, he could be moved to another national park or donated to another state owned or private conservation entity.
Risk to humans
SANParks said that the public should be acutely aware that the reality is Sylvester could pose a real risk to human life and its actions will be in line with international norms and standards. Sylvester is a three-year-old male lion who escaped last year through a hole in the fence following intense rain. He was ultimately found again and shot by a tranquilliser dart from a helicopter in an operation that cost $54,000. This time round Sylvester escaped by crawling underneath an electric fence after heavy rains again.