Spike and Spot need YOU to speak up for them! In the wild cubs this age would still be with their mothers, but these little guys, born in Queensland's Darling Downs Zoo, may be facing a life behind bars as a circus attraction. Please ask the zoo not to send them off to the circus!
Have you heard about the plight of Spike and Spot - two lion cubs from Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland, who may be sent to a travelling circus? If this happens, these two young lions will spend the rest of their lives on the road in a small, barren enclosure with no opportunity whatsoever do all those things that lions love to do.
The world's only scientific review on the welfare of exotic animals in circuses confirms that a travelling circus is no fun for wild animals, who spend their days in cramped and boring pens and are forced to perform in front of noisy crowds.
Sadly there are still people willing to attend circuses that use exotic animals without understanding what miserable lives the animals lead.
And if you thought sending these cubs to a circus was bad, can you imagine them being forced to appear at an event to celebrate the opening of a Sydney landfill site. These junior kings of the jungle were flown to a rubbish dump!
Unleashed's big sister organisation, Animals Australia has twice contacted Darling Downs Zoo about Spike and Spot, with no response. The Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) has reminded Darling Downs Zoo of their responsibilities as an associate member of the ZAA which does not condone the selling of animals to circuses. Yet the Zoo has yet to deny they will send the cubs to a circus.
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