Five lion cubs confiscated from a private zoo in Dagestan because of poor conditions may be transferred to the Minsk Zoo. This was reported by the director of the DINO animal protection foundation and shelter in the Volgograd Region, Anzhela Makarova, TASS writes.
According to her, the Eurasian Association of Zoos has already taken an interest in the animals and informed the shelter about a request from the neighbouring country.
“We cooperate with the Eurasian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EARAZA), and they have already become interested in the lion cubs. They told us there is a request from Belarus, from the Minsk Zoo. They generally have very good zoos there. And if they are ready to take some of them, we will only be happy. (…) These animals [the confiscated lion cubs] legally belong to the Russian Federation, meaning they are not my animals”, Makarova said.
However, the lion cubs will first have to undergo quarantine and rehabilitation, as the animals arrived at the shelter severely undernourished.
“We could not leave these lion cubs there, they were kept in absolutely terrible conditions. But it should be understood that our organisation is a shelter that survives on self-financing, and of course it is not easy to care for such large animals. Especially since we know that EARAZA will not transfer animals to a bad zoo. (…) But first the lion cubs need rehabilitation”, Makarova added.
The story of the lion cubs’ rescue began in 2024, when a resident of St Petersburg saw an emaciated lion cub on a chain at a beach in Dagestan, where it was being used for photo sessions. It later emerged that the cub had been rented out by one of the private zoos. In 2025, the Derbent District Court, acting on a lawsuit from the environmental prosecutor’s office, ordered the seizure of more than 40 wild animals from the private zoo, including five lions. With the new arrivals, the DINO shelter is now home to 16 lions and lionesses.
