Lion rescued from illegal zoo arrives at sanctuary
Ivan-Asen was in very poor condition when he was rescued but has responded well to treatment.
A lion that was rescued from appalling conditions at an illegal zoo in Bulgaria has finally been transported to a big cat sanctuary in the Netherlands.
International charity FOUR PAWS rescued the three-year-old male lion, Ivan-Asen, from Razgrad Zoo at the end of last year, along with four other lions.
The zoo’s license expired in 2014 but it remains open to visitors free of charge. FOUR PAWS says it is financed by the breeding and sale of lions and there were serious concerns about welfare and inbreeding.
Ivan-Asen was in very poor condition when he was rescued but has responded well to treatment. During his temporary stay at Sofia Zoo he was crate-trained, meaning he voluntarily went into his transport box without the need for risky anaesthesia in an already weakened lion.
Now he has been reunited with his siblings, Masoud and Terez, at the rescue centre FELIDA in the Dutch town of Nijeberkoop. The aim is to provide him with the intensive care he needs after the neglect he suffered in early life.
Big cat expert Barbara van Genne said: “Since we rescued him, his health condition has been slowly improving. At FELIDA our team of experts will make sure that he is provided with the further care he now needs. In the long term, we will evaluate if Ivan-Asen recovers enough to move to our Big Cat Sanctuary LIONSROCK in South Africa.”
Animals of different species continue to live at the illegal Razgrad Zoo, including lions, deer, reindeer, llamas, foxes, hogs and birds. FOUR PAWS persuaded the city’s mayor to intervene and, at the end of the last year, an international team of vets provided care to the zoo’s lions and sterilised two males to put an end to illegal breeding.
Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.
