Seoul, Aug 14 (EFE).- A lioness was shot dead Monday after it escaped from a private tourist animal farm in South Korea’s Goryeong province, authorities said.
Local police were notified around 7.23am local time that the animal had escaped from its cage at the facility, about 233 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Around an hour later, officers and hunters located the lioness and took it down, according to Yonhap news agency.
Residents of the area were notified by text message about the animal’s escape and the subsequent search operation.
A team of 159 people, which included police officers, firefighters and professional hunters, were mobilized to locate and capture the animal, which was found in a wooded area near the farm, the agency said.
According to the owner of the facility, when a ranch administrator went to feed and clean the animal, he found the back door of the cage open and the lioness missing.
The proprietor of the animal farm and the police were immediately alerted.
Although the lioness did not attempt to escape after it was located, the authorities decided to kill it, considering the animal could enter residential areas while fleeing if they launched an operation to capture it.
Moreover, the use of a sedative was ruled out as it would take too long to take effect.
The farm had been designated as an animal center for tourists in February 2022 and had a license to raise cattle, but not exotic animals such as lions.
Hence, the lioness was being raised illegally, according to the authorities, who have opened an investigation into the matter.
Even the residents of the area were not aware that there was a lioness in the animal farm.
The farm owner took over the lioness when he bought the facility from his predecessor, who had raised the lioness there for about 20 years since it was a cub.
He further claimed the animal was gentle enough to allow him to stoke its head, Yonhap reported.
The owner said he had contacted environmental authorities and a zoo to take over the lioness, but they had both refused, citing reasons such as possible conflicts with other animals. EFE
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