Abused lions en route to new home

A former circus lion who's missing an eye sits inside a cage at a temporary refuge in Lima, Peru. Photo / AP

Heartbreaking photographs have emerged of a group of badly abused lions rescued from a circus in Peru as they await their move to a safe animal shelter in America.

One of the lions had been so badly hurt while owned by the circus in Chiclayo, in southern America, that it was missing one of its eyes.

The animals are now en route to their new home at the Wildlife Animal Sanctuary in Denver, Colorado, that offers the US's best habitat for large carnivores.

The shelter is also home to various breeds of tiger, as well as varieties of wolves, black and grizzly bears, leopards, lynxes and bobcats.

A former circus lion lies inside a cage at a temporary refuge in Lima, Peru. Photo / AP

For each breed the sanctuary builds a unique habitat for the animals, allowing them to live out the remainder of their days in a peaceful and safe environment.

Founded in 1980, the shelter was not open to the public for the first 23 years - allowing the animals to truly live free.

The shelter only recently opened to the public, constructing elevated walkways above the habitats to provide the least interference in the animals' day-to-day lives.

- Independent