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A New Zealand wildlife park has been forced to euthanise two of their lions, following the closure of the park amid ongoing financial difficulties.
The privately owned Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary, located in the northern city of Whangārei on New Zealand's north island, has been up for sale since August.
The sanctuary said they had been left with no choice when it came to the ageing big cats, which they said had "serious health conditions that were not treatable and were deteriorating".
The fate of the five remaining lions at the property was still unclear, but park operator Janette Vallance said they were exploring "every possibility" in a statement shared on Facebook.
In a Facebook post earlier this week, Ms Vallance said property owners Bolton Equities had initially made the "difficult decision" to euthanise all seven big cats at the sanctuary following their last weekend of trade.
In that statement, she noted that the animals were all between 18 and 21 years old, and that there were "no real options left".
"While [the property] could potentially continue as a lion park under new ownership, such a future would require not only the purchase of the land but significant capital investment," she wrote.
After the first two lions were euthanised, Ms Vallance shared a second statement, where she acknowledged significant backlash from the public, many of whom were pleading for the remaining five lions to be relocated.
She wrote that the park had "thoroughly investigated options" for the remaining lions, but said that relocation was not a "viable or humane option" because of the age of the animals and their "complex needs".
Ms Vallance added that following their initial post, there had been a "glimmer of hope".
"A few individuals have expressed interest in purchasing the facility and continuing to care for the lions. While the timeframe is short and the situation remains uncertain, we are doing everything we can to explore this possibility and keep hope alive," she said.
New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) told the Guardian that the decision to euthanise the cats lay with the owners, and that it had been informed of the plan.
The wildlife sanctuary has been plagued by both financial difficulties and controversy over the past two decades.
The zoo initially gained a profile as the setting to a reality television programme that starred its founder, Craig Busch, who was known as the "Lion Man".
In 2009, the park made international headlines after a rare white tiger mauled a zoo keeper to death in front of horrified tourists.
The then-named Zion Wildlife Gardens plead guilty to health and safety charges in relation to the keeper's death, and had to pay NZ$60,000 (£26,000) in reparations to his family.
Current owner Bolton Equities took ownership of the sanctuary in 2014, shortly after the park was closed to the public by the MPI for failing to meet the requirements for animal enclosures.
It remained closed for seven years, before finally reopening in 2021.
However, just two years later in 2023, it was put into involuntary liquidation.
