An animal rights society has filed a suit against a resident of Glogowa Malopolska, southern Poland, for keeping a lion in his home.

“Such kind of animal cannot be kept in a courtyard. Besides that, a school is located near the home where the lion lives. And the lion also has large claws,” maintains Halina Derwisz, head of the Rzeszow Society for the Protection of Animals.

The man is being charged with various counts included under Article 73 of the protection of nature law.

“One cannot keep a wild animal in a courtyard – that’s illegal. A lion is a wild animal that can only be kept in a zoological garden or other such type of institution,” says Derwisz.

Leszek Bielenda, the man keeping the lion, claims to have borrowed it temporarily from a circus and plans to return either to the circus or to a zoo after a few months time. Bielenda’s reasons for keeping a lion are unknown. (mmj)