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'Iconic' lioness rescued from captivity
Elsa behind bars
Elsa was rescued from Circus Martin in Sardinia.

Elsa was facing a lifetime of misery behind bars

A lioness, who shares her name with the iconic lioness in the classic film 'Born Free',  has been rescued from a ramshackle circus in Sardinia, the international wildlife charity The Born Free Foundation and Italian animal welfare organisation LAV have announced.

Believed to be around six years old, Elsa is in relatively good health despite the terrible conditions that she was living in. She is currently being relocated from Circus Martin, to a spacious temporary sanctuary in Tuscany, where she will stay until she can be permanently re-homed at Born Free's Big Cat Rescue Centre in South Africa.

Born Free's Daniel Turner, senior programmes manager for Zoo Check, said: "When I walked up to the barren enclosure, which was essentially just a circle of iron bars within a concrete car park, I was struck by the inadequacy of the dismal conditions this lioness was living in. When told that she was called Elsa - 'like in the film Born Free' - I quite literally had a shiver down my spine, especially as this year marks 30 years since the Foundation was established."

Born Free's founder, actress and conservationist, Virginia McKenna OBE said: "When I heard about this lioness victim called Elsa, for a moment my world rocked. I was suffused with bitter-sweet memories. Fifty years ago my beloved husband Bill and I had flown to Kenya to make the film 'Born Free', the true story of Elsa the lioness's journey to freedom which inspired a generation and changed our lives forever."

"It was back in 1984, that Bill and I began Zoo Check with our son will. The charity evolved into the Born Free Foundation, with the iconic 'Elsa' as its symbol, and so in the year of our 30th anniversary, what could be more poignant, more momentous, than rescuing this new Elsa from her life of misery and suffering? Giving her the proper home she deserves."

Elsa cannot be returned to the wild as she would not be able to survive on her own, but will remain in Tuscany for up to a year, pending the ongoing court case, before she is ready to make the long journey 'home' to Africa.

Once she has arrived at the Born Free Foundation's rescue centre near Port Elizabeth, she will enjoy a spacious enclose, surrounded by the sights and sounds of wild Africa.

The Born Free Foundation has set up an urgent appeal for Elsa. To make a donation, please visit www.bornfree.org.uk.

Image (C) Born Free Foundation

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RCVS Knowledge appoints Veterinary Evidence editor-in-chief

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence.

A world-renowned expert in evidence-based veterinary medicine, Prof Cockcroft will lead the strategic development and editorial quality of the open-access journal. He was previously in the role from 2017-2020.

Katie Mantell, CEO of RCVS Knowledge, said: "We are excited about the extensive knowledge of evidence-based veterinary medicine and clinical veterinary research that Peter brings, and we look forward to working with him over this next phase of the journal's development." 

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News Shorts
CVS Group hit by cyber attack

CVS Group, which owns more than 450 veterinary practices in the UK, has been hit by a cyber attack.

In a statement, the group said the incident involved unauthorised external access to a limited number of its IT systems. As soon as the attack was discovered, the group took its IT systems temporarily offline, causing 'considerable operational disruption'.

It has warned that the security steps taken and ongoing plans to move its operational systems and IT infrastructure to the Cloud are likely to have an ongoing impact over a number of weeks.

Due to the risk that personal information was accessed, CVS has informed the Information Commissioner's Office. The company is working with third party consultants to investigate the incident.