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Should the lion in the Joburg Lion Park attack be put down?

Cape Town - The lioness that attacked and killed US tourist Katherine Chappell at the Lion Park in Johannesburg last week has not been removed from her pride and will not be euthanised. 

Lion Park spokesperson Scott Simpson told Traveller24 that the encampment the lion is kept in has been closed to the public until further notice. 

The park also confirmed it is currently conducting an internal investigation, which includes an animal behaviourist who is monitoring the pride.

"Once we are satisfied with the report from the animal behaviourist, we will open the enclosure, but only to our guided game drive vehicles," Simpson said.

The park confirmed that the four other lion enclosures will remain open to the public, for private vehicle or guided tours.

"All rules will be strictly enforced and guests not complying will be asked to leave the lion enclosures." 

The park also said it would be implementing further precautions for guest and staff safety.

While there has been a widespread sigh of relief over the park's decision not to put the animal down following the horrific fatal on Chappell, it has raised many questions over when euthanasia would be deemed appropriate.

Chappell's death is the third, and most serious, incident at the park in less than three months.

At the end of March an Australian tourist was bitten on the thigh by a lion that had also reached into the vehicle through an open window, as was the case with Chappell. This incident was followed by a cheetah attack on a young boy who had been cycling through the park illegally, obviously unaware of the dangers lurking inside. Both the Australian tourist and the young boy survived the attacks, coming off with relatively minor injuries. 

The Lion Park has very strict rules regarding interaction with animals in the park. 

All visitors are given a pamphlet detailing the park rules when entering the premises. It clearly states that all windows should be at least 60% closed when driving through predator camps. It is further stipulated that lion, cheetah, wild dog, hippo, rhino and crocodile are dangerous and unpredictable. 

The Lion Park has maintained a very strong stance that the lioness was not to blame for the incident and that it could have been avoided had the tourist and her tour guide adhered to the rules. 

Most people have agreed with the Lion Park's stance with very little sympathy being expressed for the victim on social media following the incident. 

Cases where animals have been euthanised

A number of animals that had attacked humans in the Kruger National Park have not come off as lightly, sparking outrage among conservationists and animal-lovers. 

Elephant charging traffic officials

In December 2013, visitors to the park witnessed the aftermath of an incident where a ranger had killed an elephant in an effort to protect two traffic officials. According to a SANParks statement sent out at the time, a herd of elephants charged traffic officers on duty 3km from the Phalaborwa gate. The ranger who had been on guard fired warning shots to scare away the animals. Most of them moved away with the exception of the one elephant, which was then shot dead. A photograph of the dead elephant taken by a visitor to the park was shared widely on social media, with most people expressing their horror over the unnecessary killing.    

“They had no choice, otherwise they were going to die,” said spokesperson for the Kruger National Park William Mabasa.

Elephant flipping tourist vehicle

Less than a month later another elephant was put down after it charged a vehicle in which two tourists had been doing a self-drive safari. The elephant that was apparently in musth, proceeded to flip the vehicle and pushed it into the bushes for about 400m at a waterhole near Pretoriuskop in the south of the park.  

The elephant was tracked down by rangers and put down within 24 hours of the attack. "The elephant had to be put down. Since it was in its musth phase, the elephant had been in a fight with another dominant bull before and was very aggressive," spokesperson Ike Phaahla explained at the time.

As with the previous incident, there was a huge outcry against SANParks' decision. Most people cited the fact that when they enter the park, tourists are on the animals' territory and that they should be respected. However, there were also those who defended the euthanasia, saying that although it was horrific, park had probably made the right decision to protect guests.

Crocodile killed after attacking drunk golfer

At the end of 2014, a 29-year-old man died after he was attacked by a crocodile at Lake Panic Dam, near the golf course adjacent to Skukuza's staff village. The man and a friend had apparently been competing to see who could dive the most golf balls out of the dam. The attack was reported to the section ranger at about 22:00 and a search was launched for the animal. 

Once it was found, it was caught and put down immediately

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

The fact that a decision was made by SANParks officials to put down the creatures mentioned above in the Kruger National Park, which is essentially wildlife territory, as they pose a threat to guests, raises many questions over when euthanasia should be considered an appropriate response, if at all. 

There does, however, seem to be a greater risk involved in keeping an animal that has attacked a guest and will continue to have human interaction - as is the case at the Lion Park. 

So, we're interested in your opinion: When it comes to animals in captivity, especially ones that are exposed to humans on a regular basis, do you think the Lion Park's decision not to euthanise is the wisest? Tell us in the comment section below, send us an email to info@traveller24.co.za, tweet @traveller24_sa or connect with us on Facebook

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