After a lifetime of being trapped in the circus industry in Columbia and Peru, 33 lions are grateful to have their feet back on African soil. Although they won’t be running wild, they’ll finally be free of a life of misery and abuse.

Circus animals are banned in many countries, but those that are constantly on the road traveling seem to fall between the cracks and go unnoticed. One group of lucky lions managed to be noticed by the Animal Defenders International (ADI) which quickly stepped in to stop the captivity of the beautiful creatures.

Rescuing animals in captivity isn’t always easy. Their captors aren’t willing to let go of one, or in this case several, sources of their income. It often requires police and even SWAT team involvement to free the animals and get them to safety.

It took the ADI team 18 months to get the 33 lions freed from captivity and back to Africa. Sadly, the lions won’t ever be able to truly be in the wild again because their physical conditions were so deteriorated it wouldn’t be safe for them. Many of them had been declawed and their teeth smashed leaving them unable to defend themselves.

Lucky for the lions though, they are now happy and safe at the Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary in Vaalwater, South Africa, where they are allowed to roam freely, but in the safety of the sanctuary walls.