2023-11-12 00:28:39
A lion that escaped from a local circus near Rome was captured following several hours roaming the streets of the town of Ladispoli.
The mayor of this town of 40,000 inhabitants, Alessandro Grando, had called on his citizens to stay at home as long as the police and circus staff tried to catch the feline.
Videos published by Italian media, the authenticity of which AFP was unable to confirm, show an adult lion walking through deserted streets in the middle of the night.
At 10:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time), more than five hours following his first message calling for caution, Mr. Grando assured on his Facebook page that the lion had been “sedated and captured”.
“Now he will be taken care of by the circus staff,” he added, thanking the emergency services and volunteers who helped during “these hours of great concern”.
“I hope that this episode can raise awareness, and that we will finally put an end to the exploitation of animals in circuses,” he wrote.
Anticipating possible complaints, Mr. Grando clarified that he had not authorized the presence of a circus with lions in the city, but that he did not have the power to prevent it.
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