Six Circus Lions Machine-Gunned to Death

[Skyhawk]

Six Circus Lions Machine-Gunned to Death
Brazilian Police Hunt Down Escaped Animals
Aug. 8, 2000

SAO PAULO (AP) -- Police firing machine guns and shotguns killed six circus lions Monday after they escaped their cage and prowled around a town in southeastern Brazil.

The animals fled from a zoo park in Sao Simao, about 200 miles northwest of Sao Paulo, where they had been held after the local authorities decided the cages of a traveling circus weren't secure enough, State Police Officer Jefferson Silva said.

Police suspect someone purposely opened the door to the cage to release the animals.

Machine guns

Twenty state police officers used 12-gauge shotguns and machine guns to hunt and kill the lions, Silva said.

"There was no way to avoid the sacrifice," Silva said. "This is a small town and we did not have any equipment to deal with something like this."

Throughout the morning residents were warned by loudspeakers mounted on cars to remain in their homes, Silva said. No one was injured during the incident.

Circus safety became a concern earlier this year after a caged circus lion in northeastern Brazil snatched a 6-year-old boy from his father's arms and killed him.

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Skyhawk

 

[Gunslinger]

Let me see if I understand this right. The authorities took the lions from the cages they were held in by the circus people because they felt those cages were not safe. Then they, the authorities, placed them in an area where they were not being watched so a person(s) could simply open the cages. Then after they negligently allowed the lions to placed in a position to escape (be set loose). Then they use machine guns and shotguns in a populated area to kill them. Because they now discover that they are not eqippped to take care of animals they took from people whom deal with them daily.



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Gunslinger

 

[stubell]

Sounds about right Gunslinger.

The big socialist hand reaching to save everyone.

I can't believe the lions were not kept with a caretaker though. I don't see too many police officers wanting to have to control one lion let alone six. It could have been sabotage if the circus provided such a person to "look after them."

 

[Dangus]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Let me see if I understand this right. The authorities took the lions from the cages they were held in by the circus people because they felt those cages were not safe. Then they, the authorities, placed them in an area where they were not being watched so a person(s) could simply open the cages. Then after they negligently allowed the lions to placed in a position to escape (be set loose). Then they use machine guns and shotguns in a populated area to kill them. Because they now discover that they are not eqippped to take care of animals they took from people whom deal with them daily.[/quote]

Yeah, kinda like how the ATF comes and takes our guns away so that society will be more safe and then they go and massacre "cultists" at the drop of a hat.

Government is just as dumb as the general population, if not moreso, and considering it is made of the general population, that's not good. The big difference between lots of government power and little power is how much damage the stupid and malicious can do, lol.

This story reminds me of the time my step-brother's step-father tried to confiscate my pellet rifle(which I had completely under control and I knew how to use quite well). He grabbed it from me, yelling at me how it was dangerous and I'd end up hurting someone with it. He ripped it out of my hands and promptly shot himself in the forehead with it.... I took it back, switched on the safety and walked off quite sure I wasn't going to shoot myself, lol.

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I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me

 

[Don Gwinn]

Just thank God it was only animals. They've been known to solve large homeless populations in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro with the same methods, as well as using submachine guns to relieve overcrowded prisons. Brazil is one of the most brutal regimes in the world, which is one reason they finally banned all private ownership of guns this year, didn't they?

We used to have a member here from Brazil, if he's still around, maybe he can paint a better picture.