4 lions freed under Bolivia circus ban fly to Bob Barker-financed refuge in California

4 Bolivia circus lions freed to California refuge

LA PAZ, Bolivia — An animal rights group says four lion cubs freed under Bolivia’s circus-animal ban are flying to California, where television personality Bob Barker has helped fund their retirement.

Enrique Mendizabal of Animal Defenders International says the group’s president and a big-cat veterinarian accompanied the lions on the 12-hour cargo flight to San Francisco.

The cubs left Thursday under a Bolivia law prohibiting all animal displays in circuses — the world’s most comprehensive ban. The rescued mother of three cubs was too elderly and had to be euthanized before the trip.

They will live in a Performing Animal Welfare Society habitat built with support from the longtime “Price is Right” host, who has rescued other performance animals.

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