Lions rescued from circuses in Peru get their teeth fixed

Lions rescued from circuses in Peru get their teeth fixed
Feb 20, 6:30 PM EST


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A former circus lion named "King" lays sedated as a veterinarian performs dental
surgery, inside a temporary refuge for the lion on the outskirts of Lima, Peru,
Friday, Feb. 20, 2015. Vets from the Animal Defenders International (ADI) are
operating on lions and monkeys rescued from traveling circuses in Peru and Bolivia.
According to the vets, King was removed from a circus in Nov. 2014 and is unable
to chew his food properly because most of his teeth had been pulled out, or partially
pulled out by his circus owners. It is illegal to use wild animals in circuses in Peru.
(AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
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LIMA, Peru (AP) -- King was unable to chew normally because most of his teeth had been pulled by the circus owners. Simba's front claws had been removed and his fangs broken.

The lions were among 21 rescued from Peruvian circuses in 2014 by members of Los Angeles-based Animal Defenders International. Activists say the lions were kept in appalling conditions.

"In the circuses they often break their teeth and remove their claws," said Eva Chomba, a Peruvian veterinarian with Animal Defenders. "It's a painful process in which they do not use anesthesia and those doing it are not veterinarians."

On Friday, a team of veterinarians sedated King and Simba to perform dental surgery on the big cats, which weigh more than 160 kilograms (352 pounds) and are 17 and 7 years old, respectively.

More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_PERU_RESCUED_LIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-02-20-18-30-16