(Australia) Lion tamer mauled in circus horror

[Guest guest]

Lion tamer mauled in circus horror

By ROD SMITH (Source: news.com.au)

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,2568181%255E3163,00.html

 

THREE lions attacked their trainer in front of a packed family audience at

a Lennon Bros Circus show at Penrith [New South Wales, Australia] yesterday.

Lion tamer Geoffrey Lennon,

40, received cuts and bites to his buttocks and back after the lions set o

n him at the beginning of the 2pm performance.

 

He was taken to the Nepean Hospital in a serious condition.

 

A woman spectator said a male lion led the attack on Mr Lennon, jumping on

his back and dragging him to the ground.

 

" You could hear children crying, and we tried to be calm for them and tell

them the man was going to hospital, " said the woman, who asked not to be

named.

 

" The trainer was trying to calm one of the lions when the female jumped str

aight on his back. "

 

The woman said two other lions joined in, biting Mr Lennon on the feet and

face while the first lion attacked his buttocks.

 

Fellow-trainers used fire extinguishers to subdue the lions - a lioness nam

ed Pearl and two males named Rudi and Sultan =AD before rescuing Mr Lennon.

 

Circus owner Lindsay Lennon, the trainer's father, said the quick actions o

f fellow performers saved his son's life.

 

" If one gets you down, the others tear into you too. " he said.

 

" Seconds make all the difference, but they were right on the ball. "

 

A hospital spokesman said Mr Lennon's injuries were not life-threatening, b

ut he was expected to undergo surgery last night.

 

" Geoffrey has puncture wounds and a little tear to the backside, and he's p

robably got a bit of shock at the moment, " his father said.

 

Shane Lennon said the three lions were each about 12 years old and his brot

her had worked with them for the past two years.

 

He said Sultan, the lion who led the attack, was a typically aggressive

male.

 

" What happened is that during the performance Geoffrey turned towards Rudi

and had his back towards Sultan. Sultan took advantage of that and attacked

, " Shane Lennon said.

 

The witness said a bloodied Mr Lennon had walked from the ring after being

rescued.

 

" His clothes were quite ripped.

 

" He jumped up and walked out with some others, " she said.

 

The witness, who was in the second row, said two of the lions seemed agitat

ed from the outset.

 

" You could see that something was going to happen.

 

" He had trouble controlling two of them - they kept pawing out towards him. "

 

Lindsay Lennon said the lions would not be punished but would be absent fro

m the show until next week, when a new season begins at Merrylands.

 

Police said Workcover had launched an investigation.

 

<ends>

 

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Of course, this is just another in the long history of circus accidents tha

t plague this medieval form of " entertainment " in ALL countries.

 

Have you seen our list of all incidents involving circus animals in

Australia?

http://www2.animal-lib.org.au/circus_list.tpl

When interviewed on the TV news last night Mr Lennon, the circus owner, sai

d: " We have absolutely no idea why the lions would attack. " !!!!

 

You ARE kidding Mr Lennon .... surely?!!?

 

I suppose these things never crossed your mind:

 

* Being intimidated to perform tricks on a daily basis - sometimes twice

a day, putting up with noise and music and whips.

 

* At all other times being locked inside a small cage, in all weathers,

where all the lions can do is pace up and down. (Some circuses do provide a

tiny 'exercise area' where lions can walk on a small area of grass - they

usually couldn't be bothered)

 

* Year after year, being transported to different towns, travelling thou

sands of kilometres a year.

 

* Having NO life, being totally denied all inate behaviours of a lion in

the wild

 

Now, there are many children who have had the educational experience of wat

hcing a man being attacked and nearly killed by an animal. Some will be tra

umatised. Hopefully there will be a number of

people who will never attend an animal circus again.

 

 

 

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Find out more about the plight of animals!

Check out the website - http://www.animal-lib.org.au