Turkish Cargo brings circus lions back to their natural habitat

Offering service to 124 countries as the fastest-growing air cargo brand around the world, Turkish Cargo brought home three lioness sisters Luca, Charlie and Kai along with baby lion Nathan to South Africa, their natural habitat. They were airlifted from Kiev via Istanbul, with utmost regard for animal rights as the driving force.

The baby lion Nathan and the three lioness sisters Luca, Charlie and Kai had been used as circus animals. They lived in concrete and steel cages of 35 square meters in Ukraine under harsh conditions without direct sunlight and clean air, far away from their natural habitat.

The lions were saved by the Lawrence Anthony Earth Organization (LAEO), an organization that acts with the mission of defending animal rights. They were then transported to their natural habitat in South Africa with the sponsorship of Turkish Airlines’ global air cargo brand, Turkish Cargo.

The lions were airlifted in special containers, designed with their nutritional needs in mind, accompanied by their keepers, on-duty veterinarians, two officials from the Lawrence Anthony Earth Organization, and IATA's Live Animals Regulations (LAR) certificated Turkish Cargo personnel during the flight.

After a long flight covering almost 9,000 kilometers, the lions were set free at Kragga Kamma Game Park, a natural habitat that hosts a huge population of African wildlife, while offering all-green coastal forest and meadows extending along 14,000 square meters. Initially having some difficulties adjusting to their own habitat as they were used to the conditions of the circus, the lions will soon discover real freedom with their new friends from now on.

Having ratified the ‘United for Wildlife (UFW) Buckingham Palace Declaration’ in 2017 to prevent illegal wildlife trade and help increase the industrial awareness, Turkish Airlines demonstrated a clear appreciation of the live animal transportation processes and animal rights.

Showing utmost care for live animal transportation services by creating near-authentic natural habitats in the skies, Turkish Cargo takes the CITES and IATA LAR regulation as the reference for the acceptance, storage and shipment processes. It also meticulously implements the documentation, encaging, labeling and marking guidelines as described under the said regulation.