Pet lions kill owner who kept them in backyard pen
A LION mauled its owner to death in a Czech Republic village yesterday morning, police said.
“I can confirm the breeder is dead,” Lenka Javorkova, a regional police spokesman told AFP, adding that the circumstances of the incident were under investigation.
Michal Prasek, 33, kept two lions, a two-year-old female and the nine-yearold male, which attacked him, in the backyard of his home in the east of the country. He did not hold the required veterinary licence and kept the animals in an enclosure built without a permit in the village of Zděchov.
“The police had to shoot the two lions dead. A doctor then declared the owner dead,” said the spokesman, adding that the shootings were “absolutely necessary for them to get to the man”.
The breeder’s father called the police yesterday morning after seeing his son’s motionless body in the enclosure via a security camera.
He said that the lion’s cage had been locked from the inside and that the two animals had been locked in separate enclosures. The man had kept the male since 2016 and the female since last year. Czech media reported that people in the village had previously expressed concern about the animals.
A previous dispute with authorities reached a stalemate when Mr Prasek refused to let officials on to his land.