Circus lion escapes in Italian seaside town
A lion prowled the streets of an Italian seaside town for several hours Saturday after escaping from a local circus, before being sedated and captured.
Alessandro Grando, mayor of Ladispoli, near Rome, had warned visitors to stay at home while police and circus staff sought to catch the animal.
Videos later published by Italian media, apparently taken by locals, but not confirmed by AFP, showed the adult lion walking through dark and deserted streets.
Un #leone è scappato da un circo di Ladispoli, a pochi chilometri da #Roma
Sui social le immagini dei cittadini che riprendono l’animale per strada pic.twitter.com/GxS7ntB4iN
— Fanpage.it (@fanpage) November 11, 2023
In a Facebook post around 10.30pm (21:30 GMT), more than five hours after his original message raising the alarm, Grando said the lion had been "sedated and captured".
"Now he will be taken in hand by the circus staff," he wrote, thanking emergency services and volunteers who helped during "these hours of great concern".
❗️The mayor's office of #Ladispoli reports that the lion has been captured. They were able to tranquilize him and capture him. Now he will be sent back to the circus.
#Italy #Rome #escape #circus #Lion pic.twitter.com/wpGKUHVPQu
— Alexandru Judeu (@AlexandruJudeu) November 11, 2023
"I hope that this episode can stir some consciences, and that we can finally put an end to the exploitation of animals in circuses," the mayor wrote on Facebook.
Anticipating residents' complaints, he earlier said he had not authorised the presence of a circus with lions in the town, but said he did not have the power to block it.
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Alessandro Grando, mayor of Ladispoli, near Rome, had warned visitors to stay at home while police and circus staff sought to catch the animal.
Videos later published by Italian media, apparently taken by locals, but not confirmed by AFP, showed the adult lion walking through dark and deserted streets.
Un #leone è scappato da un circo di Ladispoli, a pochi chilometri da #Roma
— Fanpage.it (@fanpage) November 11, 2023
Sui social le immagini dei cittadini che riprendono l’animale per strada pic.twitter.com/GxS7ntB4iN
In a Facebook post around 10.30pm (21:30 GMT), more than five hours after his original message raising the alarm, Grando said the lion had been "sedated and captured".
"Now he will be taken in hand by the circus staff," he wrote, thanking emergency services and volunteers who helped during "these hours of great concern".
❗️The mayor's office of #Ladispoli reports that the lion has been captured. They were able to tranquilize him and capture him. Now he will be sent back to the circus.
— Alexandru Judeu (@AlexandruJudeu) November 11, 2023
#Italy #Rome #escape #circus #Lion pic.twitter.com/wpGKUHVPQu
"I hope that this episode can stir some consciences, and that we can finally put an end to the exploitation of animals in circuses," the mayor wrote on Facebook.
Anticipating residents' complaints, he earlier said he had not authorised the presence of a circus with lions in the town, but said he did not have the power to block it.
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