Animal welfare group and Albania quarrel over 3 lions' fate

An international animal welfare group was locked in a dispute with the Albanian government Thursday over three lions that were removed from a private zoo but not been taken to their new home in the Netherlands.

The lions require proper medical care but remain caged in Albania due to Tirana's "bureaucratic arbitrariness," a statement by animal welfare group Four Paws said. However, the government insists its hands are tied by a lawsuit.

The three lions, named Lenci, Bobby and Zhaku, were among 11 animals seized by authorities from a private zoo in October due to fears they were malnourished. They were moved to a public zoo that Four Paws also considers unfit.

A lion sits in its cage at a zoo in Tirana, Thursday, April 18, 2019. An international animal welfare charity was locked in a spat Thursday with the Albanian government over three lions destined for a sanctuary in the Netherlands. (AP PhotoHektor Pustina)

"They stay in these closed cages, built in the 1970s, walk on cement floors and get nervous from having people this close," said Blandi Mustafai, one of the two Four Paws employees taking care of them.

He said the lions are in good physical health but suffering psychologically.

The owner of the private Safari Park Zoo sued after the 11 animals were confiscated. Despite the lawsuit, the Albanian government this month sent a three-legged bear named Dushi to Germany.

People watch a lion in its cage at a zoo in Tirana, Thursday, April 18, 2019. An international animal welfare charity was locked in a spat Thursday with the Albanian government over three lions destined for a sanctuary in the Netherlands. (AP PhotoHektor Pustina)

Four Paws says the government now argues that the lions cannot be sent to their assigned sanctuary in the Netherlands because of the lawsuit.

Ioana Dungler, a Four Paws director who was responsible for rescuing the animals from Safari Park Zoo, complained the government has repeatedly postponed the lions' departure.

The Environment Ministry, which is overseeing the matter, has not commented.

Children watch a lion in its cage at a zoo in Tirana, Thursday, April 18, 2019. An international animal welfare charity was locked in a spat Thursday with the Albanian government over three lions destined for a sanctuary in the Netherlands. (AP PhotoHektor Pustina)

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A lion walks in its cage at a zoo in Tirana, Thursday, April 18, 2019. An international animal welfare charity was locked in a spat Thursday with the Albanian government over three lions destined for a sanctuary in the Netherlands. (AP PhotoHektor Pustina)

A lion sits in its cage at a zoo in Tirana, Thursday, April 18, 2019. An international animal welfare charity was locked in a spat Thursday with the Albanian government over three lions destined for a sanctuary in the Netherlands. (AP PhotoHektor Pustina)

A lion stands in its cage at a zoo in Tirana, Thursday, April 18, 2019. An international animal welfare charity was locked in a spat Thursday with the Albanian government over three lions destined for a sanctuary in the Netherlands. (AP PhotoHektor Pustina)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed satisfaction on Monday after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor.

Candidates from his pro-European Union centrist Civic Coalition, or running with the party's backing, won in a series of cities in the second round of local elections held on Sunday, among them Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw and Rzeszow.

“It is very difficult to clearly say who won and who lost,” Tusk said Monday. “But if we compare these results, especially in the most attractive places, on these attractive battlefields ... then I actually have reasons for satisfaction.”

“Law and Justice has simply disappeared in many places,” Tusk added at a news conference, referring to the main opposition party.

The results put Civic Coalition in a favorable position as the country looks next to elections to the European Parliament on June 9.

Mayors were chosen in a total of 748 cities and towns where no single candidate won at least 50% of the vote during the first round on April 7.

Candidates for Tusk’s party also recaptured cities where they had not held power for many years, including Zielona Gora, Legnica and Torun.

The local and regional elections were viewed as a test for Tusk's pro-European Union government four months after it took power at the national level. Sunday's second round strengthened the Tusk government's leverage in the cities, which should facilitate cooperation on development projects and allotment of EU funds.

Tusk's allies also won in some places in the first round two weeks ago, including in Warsaw, where incumbent Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski was an easy victor.

In the first round, the right-wing Law and Justice, prevailed on the level of regional assemblies in the country's 16 provinces, where it took 34.3% of the votes, while Tusk's Civic Coalition got 30.6%. Law and Justice governed on the national level from 2015-23.

Tusk’s socially liberal Civic Coalition traditionally has strong support in cities, while Law and Justice has a more solid base in conservative rural areas, particularly in eastern Poland.

Civic Coalition is the largest group in a three-party coalition that governs the EU nation of 38 million people. The coalition is pro-European Union but otherwise spans a wide ideological spectrum with left-wing politicians in the Left party as well as conservatives in the Third Way.

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Campaign posters promote candidates as Poles vote in local and regional elections in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacts during his and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with students in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk listens to the media in Berlin, Germany, Friday, March 15, 2024. Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)