14 lions in Romanian zoo face death: Report

LONDON: Around 14 lions in a Romanian zoo are said to be facing death, after authorities have decided to shoot them as they are too weak to stand or even roar.

The squalid and ramshackle Romanian zoo, condemned as unfit for animals by the European Union, has no money to build proper enclosures to replace the tiny 15ft by 12ft cages into which up to four lions at a time are crammed, the 'News of the World' reported.

"We cannot afford to do any more for them. I feel terrible when I look at them. They are sick and don't have the space for their bodies," Daiana Ghender, who is in charge of the state-run Oradea Zoo built 37 years ago under communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, was quoted as saying.

"There is no money and little food for them. Any money we make goes straight to the government. It upsets me so much to see them like this," Ghender added.

Caesar, head of the pride, is barely able to walk. His once mighty muscles have atrophied for lack of exercise. He shares his cage with females Annetta and Alis, both seven, and their two cubs. Like all lions in the zoo, they sleep on a concrete floor, live in their dirt and are covered in sores.

Most were bred into their hellish captivity at Oradea Zoo. Soon the zoo will have no choice but to put them down.

"It was originally created to keep the people happy. At first there were only a couple of lions. Now we have too many and there is no way to keep them apart to stop them breeding further," Ghender said.

Though the Yorkshire Wildlife Park wants to bring all the lions to Britain, it needs to raise 150,000 pounds to ship the animals to the UK.