Rescued Circus Lions’ New Life in South Africa

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, June 6, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- After more than a decade in a tiny, bare circus cage in France, lions Goliath and Coralie today stepped out into the land of their ancestors at the Animal Defenders International (ADI) Wildlife Sanctuary, South Africa.

Today, the lions are basking in the African sunshine in a huge 2.5-acre enclosure at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary following an airlift from France to South Africa via Doha, donated by Qatar Airways Cargo as part of their WeQare program.

ADI President Jan Creamer, who accompanied the animals on their voyage, said: “When you see these two magnificent lions living so close to what nature intended, it shows how wrong it is to keep them in circus cages, just for entertainment. Goliath and Coralie lived the first half of their lives in a cage on a truck, now they get to live as lions should.”

The rescue marks another important step in the global Stop Circus Suffering campaign which has seen more than 50 countries (and seven US states) ban wild animals in circuses. The ADI Wildlife Sanctuary specializes in helping to enforce these bans.

Los Angeles based ADI has undertaken huge rescue operations to enforce circus bans in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Guatemala resulting in airlifts of 33, 25, and 17 lions and 40 monkeys at a time.

Due to the abuse they have suffered, their years of confinement, deprivation, and in-breeding, it is not possible to return these animals to the wild. The ADI Wildlife Sanctuary provides a lifeline for them.

Goliath and Coralie’s flight to freedom marks the beginning of the end for wild animal acts in France. In 2021, France passed a law phasing out wild animals in circuses, prohibiting further breeding and setting minimum welfare standards, with a full ban coming into force in 2028.

The new regulations enabled Goliath and Coralie to be seized from the circus following an investigation by France’s Free Life Association. The lions were taken into Tonga Terre d'Accueil, a temporary holding facility for confiscated wildlife near Lyon, and ADI offered to provide a forever home in South Africa.

Goliath and Coralie are currently in a 2.5-acre quarantine unit at ADIWS where they have received a full medical examination, vaccinations, and a battery of health checks. After the quarantine period, they will move to a huge 7.5-acre habitat.

ADI is now appealing for donations to support the lifetime care for Goliath and Coralie, who could enjoy ten years of freedom to roam in a secure habitat, under African skies: https://act.ad-international.org/page/169215/donate/1

EDITOR’S NOTES:

Photos and video are available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ocodckkufscajdpqw2d7m/AGM8Aw3Q5GRvIfQzQj7G3AM?rlkey=37ku7o4wdxyimtuorstitdoen&st=hlys7au5&dl=0
Video also available on youTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYpvqTiMIN4

To find out more about the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary https://adiwildlifesanctuary.org.za
About Animal Defenders International www.ad-international.org

Contact:
Gina Yates, Media & Social Media Director
(323) 804-9920 or [email protected]

** ADI Founders, President Jan Creamer and Vice-President Tim Phillips, are available for interviews. **

Hashtags:
#GoliathAndCoralie
#StopCircusSuffering
#ADIWildlifeSanctuary

About the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary: https://adiwildlifesanctuary.org.za
A peaceful, secure refuge, the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary (ADIWS) provides a place of loving kindness for animals in need, and as close as possible to what nature intended. Set in 455 acres, the self-sustaining, solar-powered sanctuary is home to over 30 big cats and many other rescued animals, with state-of-the-art security fencing, and solar water pumps bringing fresh spring water to each habitat and buildings.

About Animal Defenders International (ADI)
Los Angeles – London – Bogota – Lima – South Africa

Active worldwide to end animal suffering, ADI’s undercover investigations inside laboratories, circuses, animal traffickers, and Hollywood animal trainers have led to prosecutions and new laws to protect animals.

Detailed studies and undercover missions to expose the suffering of animals in entertainment around the world. When governments ban animal circuses, ADI returns to conduct some of the biggest and most dangerous large scale animal rescues.

Bans on all animals or wild animals in circuses have been secured in 50 countries. In Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Guatemala, ADI has assisted government wildlife officials in enforcing the bans and emptying the cages, saving hundreds of animals including lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, and many other animals. Relocations of these animals include airlifts of 33, 25, and 17 lions and tigers, and 40 monkeys at a time.

ADI cares for rescued circus survivors in their 455-acre sanctuary in South Africa, where lions and tigers roam huge natural enclosures – living and as close to their natural lives as possible.

Media Desk
Animal Defenders International
[email protected]
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