mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">Former zoo lion, Nelson, and confiscated ‘exotic pet’,
Ciam, started new lives in their
ancestral home of Africa this week.
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> Nelson and Ciam travelled from their temporary
home in Belgium - via Germany - to Port Elizabeth, in South Africa’s Eastern
Cape, where they were this morning introduced into their spacious, safe and
enriching accommodation at the award-winning Shamwari Game Reserve.
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">With them every step of the way on their more than
10,000km journey was Born Free Foundation Co-Founder and actress, Virginia
McKenna OBE, who watched with delight as Nelson and Ciam explored their new
surroundings.
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">Nelson, after 14 years of imprisonment and about two
years at the Natuurhulpcentrum rescue centre in Belgium, and Ciam, bought from
a terrible circus by someone who kept him illegally in his back yard, will now
have a new life at the Born Free sanctuary at Shamwari.
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">Mckenna said: “Seeing them take their first steps into
their huge natural enclosures was utterly joyful. At last they are free to live
where lions belong and will be treated with the care and respect they deserve.
How lucky I was to be there to share the moment."
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mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">The two lions started their journey from
Natuurhulpcentrum rescue centre, Belgium, on Thursday May 4. Born Free
Celebrity Patrons, comedian Jim Moir (Vic Reeves) and his wife – model and
actress Nancy Sorrell - helped carefully prepare Nelson and Ciam for their
journey and have been closely following their progress.
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> From Belgium, the lions travelled by road to
Frankfurt airport, Germany, for their flight to Johannesburg. From there, they
were flown by charter plane to Port Elizabeth, and then travelled by road the
short distance to Shamwari Game Reserve. Nelson is now living at Born Free’s
Julie Ward Animal Rescue and Education Centre, while Ciam’s new home is at the
Jean Byrd Centre.
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> Joe
Cloete, Shamwari Game Reserve, Group General Manager said: “We, here at
Shamwari Game Reserve are very proud to continue our close working relationship
with Born Free, which now marks 20 years, and to be a part of not only
supporting this great work, but also raising awareness of the plight of many
big cats worldwide.”
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> Nelson and Ciam’s new lives at Shamwari Game
Reserve will be a world away from their previous circumstances, which highlight
the sorry plight of the millions of wild animals worldwide kept for human
entertainment – in zoos, circuses or as ‘exotic pets’. Nelson was rescued from
a French zoo in April 2015 when it fell into liquidation. Ciam made
international headlines in November 2015 when he was confiscated from a cramped
cage in a garden in Southern France where his owner was illegally keeping him
as an ‘exotic pet’.
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