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STOP KILLING OUR LIONS, NGO’s TELL TOURISTS

You’re killing them softly – South African NGOs launch a powerful awareness campaign ahead of World Lion Day calling for an end to the commercial captive lion industry in South Africa

Any visitor or volunteer paying to play, bottle feed, and/or hand-raise captive-bred predator cubs, use them as photo props or merely visit predator parks, is fuelling South Africa’s cruel commercial captive predator breeding – and killing – industry.

A captive lion at one of South Africa's many lion farms

“You’re killing them softly” is the powerful message released for World Lion Day (10 August) by four national and international animal welfare and conservation organisations – Blood Lions, FOUR PAWS South Africa, Humane Society International/Africa and Voice4Lions – who are campaigning to bring an end to the commercial captive lion industry in South Africa.

The NGO’s have created one unified voice this World Lion Day with a view to actioning pledges made by the South African government in 2021 to end the often unashamedly cruel exploitation of these threatened big cats.

 

“However well-intentioned people’s actions are, these cubs are not orphans, they have no conservation value, they are purely bred to feed an unethical and insidious industry that commodifies these predators,” the group states.

The harsh reality is that lions and many other predators are bred solely for commercial purposes, such as cub petting, walking with predators, voluntourism, “canned” or captive trophy hunting, the live trade, and trade in their bones, parts and derivatives. It all comes down to the basics of supply and demand – whilst tourists pay to pet these animals, they will continue to be abused for profit.

According to the campaign organisers, the dignity of our iconic species has been replaced by the commodification of captive lions and other predators at every stage of their lives. Currently, at least 8000 lions and thousands of other big cats, including many tigers and cheetahs, are bred and kept at approximately 350 lion farms in South Africa.

World Lion Day 2024 comes at a significant time for South Africans as we have entered a new Government of National Unity.

Across the world, the public and NGOs are appealing to governments to consider the importance of environmental issues in their policies and legislation. The commercial captive lion industry is one such pressing issue that has garnered substantial attention, leading to a Parliamentary Colloquium in 2018, the formation of the High-Level Panel and subsequent Ministerial Task Team under ex-Minister Barbara Creecy’s leadership.

CUDDLED TO DEATH? NGO's ARE ASKING FOR RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

This process led to the commitment of the government to take steps to ultimately close South Africa’s commercial captive lion industry.

“We acknowledge the significant progress achieved and marked by the recently approved report of the Ministerial Task Team on voluntary exit options and the policy position on the conservation of elephants, lions, leopards, and rhinoceroses in South Africa. However, we urge the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) to publish a detailed implementation plan with time-bound goals,” the coalition of NGOs says.

BIG CATS ARE NOT PLAY THINGS SAYS CAMPAIGN

“There is hope to end this cruel and rampant industry and we commend the Cabinet for their commitment. This move will ensure that these majestic animals are no longer bred to suffer for profit. However, we urge the government to ensure the well-being of other predators by extending the ban to all captive big cats and prohibit their ownership as pets and playthings.”

Together, Blood Lions, FOUR PAWS South Africa, Humane Society International/Africa, and Voice4Lions continue to raise vital awareness amongst the public that we are all capable of pushing for meaningful change and ending the exploitation of one of South Africa’s most iconic species.

The public can make their voices heard by signing the Big Cats SA petition to help urge the DFFE to introduce legislation that prohibits keeping tigers, lions, other big cat species and predators as pets. This legislation should include banning public contact with all big cat species and predators, not just lions, including keeping such species for promotional, educational or entertainment purposes, and interactive experiences like cub petting and walking with big cats.

Sign hsi.org/bigcatssa.

Remember, our actions and choices have far-reaching consequences.

Let us all work together on World Lion Day to end harmful captive breeding industries and to stop killing them softly.

Watch the World Lion Day 2024 video –https://youtube.com/shorts/cAj54e7DQZE?si=1e-0-r-Wju2CKS01

THE HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA’S CAPTIVE LION INDUSTRY

The commercial captive lion industry in South Africa started in the 1990s and has been allowed to grow unimpeded.

In 2015, the award-winning Blood Lions Documentary premiered, blowing the lid off misleading claims made by the predator breeding and canned hunting industries in South Africa.

Lions and many other indigenous and exotic large felids are bred in captivity for commercial purposes, such as cub petting, walking with lions, voluntourism, “canned” or captive trophy hunting and for their bones, parts and derivatives for the domestic and international traditional medicinal use, predominantly for their bones in Chinese Traditional Medicine until 2019.

In August 2018, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Environmental Affairs convened a Colloquium on “Captive lion breeding for hunting in South Africa; harming or promoting the conservation image of the country”. The recommendations of the Colloquium were adopted by the national assembly on December 6, 2018, including that “the Department of Environmental Affairs should as a matter of urgency initiate a policy and legislative review of captive breeding of lions for hunting and lion bone trade with a view to putting an end to this practice”.

In August 2019, a High Court judge ruled that the setting of the bone quota in 2017 and 2018 of 800 per year was “unlawful and constitutionally invalid” and that consideration should have been given to welfare issues relating to lions in captivity when determining such quota. Since this ruling, the DFFE has deferred the setting of a CITES lion bone export quota.

In 2019, the Minister of DFFE appointed a High-Level Panel (HLP) of experts to review policies, legislation, and practices on matters of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros management, breeding, hunting, trade and handling. The majority recommendations in terms of captive lions included that South Africa would not breed lions in captivity, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially.

These recommendations were adopted by Cabinet and on May 2, 2021, Minister Creecy announced that the Department will be adopting the majority recommendations on these issues.

In 2021, the award-winning documentary Lions, Bones & Bullets launched.

In 2023, a Ministerial Task Team (MTT) was appointed by Minister Creecy to identify and recommend voluntary exit options and pathways for the captive lion industry. Their recommendations were approved by Cabinet in March 2024 and their final report published. One of their key recommendations was that voluntary exit should only be the first step in the longer-term government objectives of ultimately closing the commercial captive lion industry in South Africa