The rider in question went to hospital, so the doctors could take care of the few scratches. It was when they heard the word lion that they naturally called the police. It turned out later that the cyclist hadn’t signalled he was coming and had hit the lioness in the back. The scratches were most likely from the fall and not from the big cat. The bizarre thing about the accident is that the exaggerating rider isn’t the only bad guy in the story.
Local journalists only needed to ask the first person they met to find out that the breeder doesn’t have the proper permit to keep the lions. He doesn’t even have a building permit for the enclosures. Local authorities ordered the enclosures to be torn down, but nothing has happened for the last year. Moreover, the authorities cannot take the animals away because although the breeder doesn’t have a permit, he takes good care of the lions, so there’s no animal cruelty going on. And that’s the only thing the authorities can act on according to the current laws.
It comes as no surprise that the mayor of Zděchov is trying to make the most of this story. He sees it as an opportunity to get rid of the troublesome citizen for good. There’s pressure on the police force to classify this as public safety threat and to take the breeder to court. We’ll keep you posted if this story gets any weirder.
Meanwhile, tell us of the strangest thing you’ve ever encountered on the trails!
