6 More Tigers Saved From Circus Suffering in Guatemala

Animal advocates are celebrating the rescue of six more tigers in Guatemala who were former circus performers, but are now getting a chance to start entirely new lives.

Guatemala passed a ban on using animals in circuses last year, and the circuses there were given 12 months to find homes for their animals.

Since then, Animal Defenders International (ADI) has been working with officials to secure homes for dozens of big cats who were exploited by this industry. So far, the organization has rescued 21 lions and tigers in the country, and now it’s celebrating the rescue of six more tigers.

According to ADI, the circus had refused to hand them over when two lions and nine other tigers were rescued back in June, but they weren’t forgotten.

Credit: Animal Defenders International

Finally this weekend, they were removed from a scrapyard where they were being kept. Now, two adult females, Bimbi and Lupe, parents Itsa and Sobra, and their two cubs who have yet to be named, are starting entirely new lives.

Credit: Animal Defenders International

“We vowed to not let these six tigers down, and we kept our word. ADI’s mission is to ensure that no animal will suffer in circuses in Guatemala ever again. With the public’s support we can save them all,” said Jan Creamer, President of ADI.

Credit: Animal Defenders International

They’ve since been taken to a temporary shelter being run by ADI where they’re getting the space and enrichment that’s vital to their health and mental wellbeing. There, they’ll have room to exercise, toys to play with and pools to swim in.

Credit: Animal Defenders International

According to ADI, all the big cats who have been saved will spend the next few months there while the proper documentation and permits are secured to move them to their forever homes. The organization is now working to secure a permanent home for the latest rescues, while the lions will be headed to ADI’s newly built sanctuary in South Africa, while the first group of tigers have been offered homes in the U.S. at Big Cat Rescue and Tigers for Tomorrow.

Credit: Animal Defenders International

This latest rescue now just leaves one circus remaining in the country, and ADI is working towards rescuing a reported 15 big cats who remain there.

Credit: Animal Defenders International

Hopefully those who are left will soon follow, and the efforts being undertaken here will help raise awareness about how critical bans like these are for animals being exploited because there isn’t anything entertaining about watching some of the earth’s most iconic, and endangered, species being forced to perform tricks for our fleeting amusement.

Fortunately, around the world nations are acting on behalf of animals like these by continuing to pass bans surrounding their use in entertainment, and hopefully the U.S. will soon follow by passing a federal ban on the use of wild animals in circuses.

Photo credit: Animal Defenders International