LOVE LIONS ALIVE SANCTUARY
LION LOYALTY• PURE PREDATOR POWER • FELINE GRACE
Love Lions Alive is a sanctuary that gives life long care to captive born wild cats who come to live out their lives in safety. We offer them the most natural enclosures we can returning dignity and pride to these animals who have been formally used and abused by the places they come from.
Our project is aimed at creating awareness and an appreciation for live lions.
There is a huge market in South Africa for dead lions or soon to become dead lions. People view these spectacular creatures from the viewpoint of what they will look like as trophies on the wall or as mats on the floor. Their value lies in their demise.
ABOUT US
Opened in 2015, the original Love Lions Alive Sanctuary is located in the Free State, South Africa. This sanctuary has been one of only a few places in South Africa where captive bred lions are safe for the rest of their lives.
Our complete devotion has been to each lion and what that particular lion needs.
In March 2020, as the country was going into lockdown, we were asked to take in 2 jaguars and 2 pumas from the Bloemfontein zoo.
Thus breaking our previous stance of only being open to indigenous South African cats.
In March 2021 we were called on to take in two tigers from a suburban home in Gauteng. We debated wether to open LLA up to tigers. The end result is that we have decided to accept any captive, exotic cat born in South Africa that is in need of sanctuary.
Love Lions Alive Sanctuary has now opened a 2nd sanctuary on Indlulamithi Wild in the Waterberg, Limpopo.
Our Aim: to create awareness that an animal suffers needlessly when not housed and fed properly. If animals are kept by humans, they must reap every benefit humans can give them. Nutrition has a direct effect on the animal's quality of life. Correct care is paramount. We will not rest until this is written in law.
Our Mission: To create an awareness that a living lion should be more valuable to people than a dead lion. Lions are not stock, not objects, not produce, not replaceable.
OUR WORK
The attention from Andi & Line ensures that the cats who come to LBCA are given the care they need, medically, nutritionally and emotionally. The enclosures are meticulously planned to include trees for shade, hills to climb, valleys to shelter in and boulders to reign from as the royalty they are.
Love Lions Alive Sanctuary is based on what is best for the individual animal.
What to expect at LOVE LIONS ALIVE SANCTUARY
We do NOT offer petting (touching) or walking with lions. We do not have cubs as we do not breed. All our lionesses are sterilized. If we take in rescue cubs, they are kept away from the public.
If you book a personal tour, you will be taken on a walk by Andi Rive. She will show you our lions and tell their individual story. She possesses a lot of knowledge so use the oppurtunity to learn from her by asking questions.
Lions are cats and will come out of their hiding spot if they feel like it. We do not force them to be seen if they choose not to. But usually some of our lions will show themselves and a few might come to the fence for a closer look.
If you are coming to LLA as a volunteer we can guarantee that you will see and hear all of our lions. As a volunteer you will work with the LLA-team and have the opportunity to help with all that we do to keep a lion sanctuary running.
Many lion places are breeding lions and selling lions for the canned hunting industry or body parts for superstitious medicine. In order to fully utilise these lions, subsiduary bussiness have sprung up around this primary business. These usually involve utilising the immature lions by offering them up for tourist interactions. This begins with tourists being able to pay to bottle feed the baby cubs, Tourists can then pay to play or have photos taken with the older cubs and later on tourists can pay to walk with young lions or to climb into a perspex box to photograph lions unaturally baited to the box.
All of these tourist oportunities are simply ways for the breeder to make money out of the lions prior to them being of an adequate age and size to either be culled for body parts or sold for hunting.
This is something Love Lions Alive is completely against. We do not believe that there should be one more lion born in captivity.
All our females are sterilized.
When a cat dies, they are buried in our lion graveyard which is situated in a beautiful safe place so that just as they lived with dignity so may their bodies rest in safety and dignity.
Love Lions Alive Sanctuary is a registered Non Profit Company
NPC 2017/242037/08
Sanctuary 19/A31270
TOPS Permit R84/710720001089
