The last years of Jon the lion, discovering a taste for a life out of the circus

On Wednesday 26 January 2022, Jon started refusing to eat... the autopsy revealed that he had serious intestinal problems, but at that time it was impossible to know this. He died in barely three days, without letting the severity of his condition show, surrounded by love, far from the circus lorry where he had been deprived of food to the point he was only a shadow of himself.

A golden early retirement

He would have spent almost two years away from his torturers, in the presence of Patty, Marli, Céleste, and Hannah, to make the most of the joy of the grass under his de-clawed paws, of the games given to them, and above all, of the protection from exploitation. Without our intervention after months of enquiries and of following the circus, he would have been dead in the cage-lorry.

Since arriving, he had surprised and reassured us all with his incredible weight gain, putting on 70 kilograms in a month and having gone from 107 kilograms four days after his arrival, with his ribs visible under the skin, to being a lion in good health weighing between 150 and 200 kilograms. At the refuge, he had finally been treated and was enjoying life in his well-deserved retirement.

Muriel Arnal, Founding President of One Voice, who is very moved by the sudden loss of Jon stated:

Waiting on justice’s green light

We were awaiting the final decision from the prosecutor to see if we could send him to the sanctuary in Italy where we had been assured that five spaces were awaiting him and his four companions, for a semi-free life. The transfer had been set for May.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

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Dans sa triste vie, il n'a connu que 2 années de répit et voici le résultat.
Merci beaucoup à tous ceux qui se sont occupés de Jon avec dévouement et amour.
À vous, merci d'exister !!!!!!

Ce n'est pas la lenteur de la justice, ses piles de dossiers, c'est son inaction, la non empathie de la majorité des Juges, des peines, condamnations lamentables, inexistantes. Et le non respect des droits des animaux, des lois promulguées depuis des années, siècles, par la Justice elle-même.

Jon a fini sa vie entouré et choyé, cela console un peu... mais si la justice se préoccupait de faire le travail pour lequel elle est là, il aurait vécu depuis des années et pour encore des années, pas une vie de lion sauvage, mais au moins dans la quiétude et le respect.

Je suis outrée du comportement de certains hommes, mais je suis outrée tout autant par ceux qui ne font pas respecter les lois et pour lesquels c'est pourtant la mission.

Mon dieu, pauvre gros lion, il allait retrouver une douce vie, il aura tant souffert, les tortionnaires ne l'auront pas épargné, on pleure, et l'on gronde de colère,Mme la Ministre en réponse à mon courrier concernant les cirques et le bien être animal, ce sera en 2028, mais c'est à hurler,révoltant, je vais répondre à Mme la ministre, je vais lui dire ma colère !....