Police hunt owners who abandoned lion cub in Dutch field

THE HAGUE - Dutch police were on Sunday seeking the owners of a small lion cub found abandoned in a cage in a field outside the central city of Utrecht, police and news reports said.

"Today (Sunday) we received quite an extraordinary message: 'a witness has found a mini-lion in a cage in a pasture'," local police said on their Facebook page.

"When we arrived at the scene, we discovered a lion cub in a cage. It seems to have been abandoned," the police said, estimating the little feline to be about four months old.

The cub was first spotted by a jogger near the small village of Tienhoven, about 10 kilometres (six miles) north of Utrecht, a local news report said.

The cub was taken for examination by a veterinarian, and then to the Lion Foundation in northern Netherlands, the NOS public broadcaster said.

Meanwhile local police and the Dutch food and goods watchdog appealed to the public for information leading to the lion cub's owners.

"If you know anybody who recently bought a lion cub, or know anything about this particular cub, please contact us immediately," police said.