Zlín Zoo to open new lion rescue and breeding centre

Zlín Zoo will open a new lion rescue and breeding centre on its premises at the end of June, the zoo’s director Roman Horský announced in a press release. The existing breeding pair of Congo lions with three cubs will move to the half-hectare facility. A special section of the premises will be reserved for lions taken away by the state from private breeders due to unsuitable conditions or illegal breeding. It will be the first such centre in the Czech Republic. The facility will be able to house ten animals, including those already in the zoo’s breeding program. According to Horský, there are about 150 large felines in the Czech Republic, not always in appropriate breeding conditions.