An Amsterdam zoo has had to part with its lions due to the cost of keeping them, having had its income severely depleted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Artis Zoo is one of the oldest animal parks in Europe and is struggling to pay its daily $72,000 running costs. Visitor numbers were down by 50 percent in 2020 and the zoo is currently closed.

The tough decision has now been taken to allow its two female lions and one male to leave for a French zoo next month.

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"The situation is really tough now because we have expenses but no income," said Rembrandt Sutorius, Artis Zoo managing director.

"This means that after many savings that we introduced right at the beginning of the crisis, we now have to stop all investments. We hope that we will be able to finish the ones we have already started."

Hopefully, more lions can return in the future when the financial situation improves.