Horsham-based international wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation (Sussex, England) and its co-founder, Virginia McKenna OBE, have launched an urgent appeal to assist with rehoming two magnificent lions, Ciam and Nelson.

It’s hoped the animals can be moved to Shamwari Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Nelson, 17, was rescued from a zoo which went into liquidation.

Ciam, a two-and-a-half year old male lion, made international headlines in November 2015 when he was confiscated from a cage in a garden in southern France (pictured above). At the moment both animals are kept in Belgium.