The reason why the lioness who escaped was shot instead of anesthetized… “Concerns about private house access”
At a farm in Goryeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, a lioness escaped from the kennel, prompting residents to evacuate. The lioness was found and shot dead in a bush about 20 meters from where she lived.
According to Yonhap News on the 14th, at 7:20 am on the same day, a report was received on 112 that a lioness who had been raised on a private ranch in Okgye-ri, Deokgok-myeon, Goryeong-gun disappeared from the breeding facility. At that time, a ranch manager who went into the breeding facility to feed the lions and clean the cages saw the back door open, recognized that the lioness had escaped, and quickly informed the ranch owner. Afterwards, the police, who received a report from the ranch owner A, requested cooperation from the fire authorities, and Goryeong-gun hurriedly sent a disaster text message announcing the escape of the lioness with the address of the ranch. As a result, about 70 people안전놀이터 staying at a nearby campsite evacuated to the Deokgok-myeon office and cafe.
A total of 159 people and 34 pieces of equipment, including firefighters, police officers, and police officers from the Goryeong-gun Wildlife Damage Prevention Team, were involved in capturing the lioness. The lioness was found in the grass 15 to 20 meters away from the ranch in a downward direction. According to the hunters, the lioness did not run far from the paddock, but roamed around or sat there. “After about 20 to 30 minutes of searching, we found the female lion and a fellow sniper shot and killed it with two shots,” said Kim Dong-hwan, chairman of the Goryeong-gun Yeopwoo Association. He said, “All the relevant agencies came to the scene, but the lioness was a predatory beast, and it was a situation where it was possible to approach private houses.”
The police also said that it was decided on the spot in consultation with the senior military and fire authorities regarding the “killing” of the female lion. It is known that he was concerned about the possibility of human injury if anesthesia was attempted and failed, and consent was obtained from the ranch. The Daegu Regional Environmental Office explained that if the animal is designated as a dangerous animal or if the animal can harm the human body, it can decide to kill it under the judgment of the on-site agency. The lioness who was killed was about 20 years old. It has been confirmed that it is a ‘ Panthera Leo ‘ species classified as an internationally endangered species class 2 individual . The Daegu Environmental Office and Goryeong-gun plan to decide how to dispose of the body of the lioness through consultations.
Meanwhile, it is known that the investigation authorities cannot apply any criminal charges, such as professional negligence, against the ranch officials as the lioness killed that day was legally bred and there was no loss of life due to negligence in management. However, the police foresaw that if an investigation request comes in from the Environment Agency, they will be able to review the investigation again. First of all, the Daegu Environmental Office confirmed that the transfer and acquisition had not been properly reported since the ownership of the ranch was changed in August of last year, and according to the Wildlife and Protection Act, it was reported that it would impose a fine of less than 1 million won on both parties.