Hippo flown to SA sanctuary
2007-08-29 18:26
Saint Martin la Plaine - An animal rights group says an 11-year-old hippopotamus, known as Tonga, who suffered from neglect in a French circus is to be flown to South Africa where it will start a new life in a wildlife reserve.
The French Animal Aid Foundation won a court order in February to have the nearly two-ton male hippo removed from the circus along with five lions, a tiger and five snakes.
The circus failed to provide proper veterinary care to the animals, which in the case of Tonga led to dental problems.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation is picking up the cost of Tonga's transfer by truck to Amsterdam, where it will be loaded onto a cargo plane for Johannesburg.
Christophe Marie of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation said: "Tonga will finally be released in the Sanwild wildlife sanctuary where it will get proper care."
- SAPA