Turkish Cargo has brought the three young lionesses Luca, Charlie, Kai and a young lion Nathan to South Africa, their natural habitat, from Kiev with a connection flight from Istanbul.
The young lion Nathan and the three young lionesses Luca, Charlie and Kai had been used as circus animals and had been placed in a concrete and steel cage of 35 square meters in Ukraine under harsh conditions without direct sunlight and clean air, far away from their natural habitat.
The lions were saved by the Lawrence Anthony World Organization (LAEO), an organization that acts with the mission of defending animal rights, and were transported to their natural habitat in South Africa under the sponsorship by Turkish Cargo.
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The lions were transported in specially-designed containers, where their nutritional needs were met, and they were accompanied by their keepers, specially-assigned veterinarians, an authorized person from the Lawrence Anthony World Organization and IATA LAR (IATA Live Animals Regulations) certificated Turkish Cargo personnel during the flight.
After a long flight covering almost 9000 kilometers, the lions were set free at Kragga Kamma Natural Park, a natural habitat embracing huge animal populations of Africa and offering all-green coastal forest and meadows extending along 14 thousand square meters.
Having ratified the 'United For Wildlife (Buckingham Palace) Declaration (UFW)' in 2017 for the purpose of preventing illegal wildlife trade and increasing the industrial awareness thereto, Turkish Airlines has highlighted its cognizance of the live animal transportation processes and animal rights.