This entire area should either be demolished or radically renovated. The big cats have enclosures that are far too tiny, and the smaller mammals are in ugly, outdated cages. If there was funding available and all of the metal cages were eliminated then the zoo could open up an entirely new section full of modern, naturalistic exhibits.
I agree with you, although the lions are not too bad off, I have seen worse exhibits in other zoos. If they can do as good job with the carnivore species as they did with the Southeast Asian species, then down with this section as soon as possible, but with so much funding having gone to cater for the pandas, I guess that will not happen soon.