Laughter, excitement and sweet treats: nothing beats a day at the circus, at least for its human visitors. However, there is a dark side to it: For many of the animals who are forced to perform in these shows, their life is simple torture.

Lion Romeo is one of the many wild animals that had to endure such a fate. Having to perform in a circus night after night, afterwards crawling back into his 'home' that consisted of a 2x5 metres cage on the back of a truck. He was born in 2019 in France and belonged to the circus. Two of his comrades died of starvation, while Romeo and two other lions were rescued by Action Protection Animale, Natuurhulpcentrum and Stichting AAP in August of 2023.

Afterwards, he was brought to the rescue centre of Belgian NGO Natuurhulpcentrum. The team on site had their hands full in keeping Romeo alive as he arrived in a bad condition. Before his rescue, Romeo had been fed with expired meat. As a consequence, he was skinny and had salmonella as well as a skin infection. Fortunately, under the care of the staff his health started to improve.

Romeo is a white lion, making it very likely that he comes from inbreeding. He is also very friendly with people, suggesting he was raised by humans, which carries severe long-term health risks.

FOUR PAWS and the Belgian organisation are regularly in contact with each other for various projects. When we learned about Romeo's arrival at Natuurhulpcentrum and his sad story, we immediately had an idea.

We have been looking for a mate for lioness Nala for years now and since she was also rescued from France where she had to perform in a circus as well it looks like we have now found her perfect match! Lioness Nala has been living at LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary in South Africa since 2018 and was socialised with lion Saeed, who unfortunately passed away in 2020.

The big day for Romeo has come on 13th May 2024! After a vet check, Romeo was loaded into a big cat transport crate and brought to Brussels airport to board a flight to South Africa. Two days of travel later, the rescued lion arrived at LIONSROCK.

Despite a bit of initial stress from his journey, which is totally normal and to be expected, he's now feeling right at home and already exploring his new digs. Plus, he already had his first hearty meal here at LIONSROCK and is starting to uncover his favourite hangout spots.

Romeo deserves to spend the rest of his life in the best possible surroundings – at LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary in South Africa.

Right now, Romeo's unwinding in an enclosure next to lioness Nala – whom he will get to know as soon as our dedicated caretakers and experts are confident that he has settled in well. We'll keep you posted on their budding friendship, so stay tuned!