The Environmental Protection Agency of Montenegro informed that after a five-month stay in the country, the lion cub Simba is leaving first to the Netherlands, and when it grows stronger there, will depart for the huge sanctuary operated by Four Paws in Africa.
The vehicle with Simba left for the 2,100 km journey to Netherlands and the cub is accompanied by a trained team of employees of the Environmental Protection Agency of Montenegro, informed this agency.
“Due to a reasonable doubt of participating in illegal transportation of animals into Montenegro, the police have arrested three persons. This is the first serious response by the state to the illegal smuggling of exotic animals. This activity is causing big problems for the state,” said the Environmental Protection Agency of Montenegro.
Otherwise, in February this year, Meta.mk informed about the lion cub, which the Montenegrin authorities and volunteers have found after a one-day search. Reportedly the cub Simba was strolling the wood around Budva for several days. When it was found, the Montenegrin authorities provided the necessary veterinary care to the cub.
The Environmental Protection Agency of Montenegro (EPAM) then issued a plea to the citizens, reminding them that the wild animals should live in their appropriate natural habitat. The cub was allegedly owned by a foreign national on a stay in Budva, but the Montenegrin authorities determined that he had no information how the cub entered Montenegro. EPAM then also warned that these wild animals can grow fast, so with time, they can pose a danger for people and animals if they aren’t kept in accordance with strict protocols.
Otherwise, In September last year, Macedonia also had a case with a lion cub that was dubbed Simba, which was reportedly somewhere in Kumanovo, but the authorities didn’t manage to find it. After a series of articles that Meta.mk published while following the fate of this cub, in October the police took into custody a person against whom charges were pressed for keeping and theft of a wild animal.
