Travel conference organisers have decided not to screen a documentary that raises critical questions about key tourist attractions that their event promotes.

Local delegates to the World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) 2015 asked the hosts to include a screening of the film Blood Lions in their programme. The documentary shows young, conservation-minded volunteers from around the world paying thousands of rands to work at South African facilities that offer tourists the opportunity to pet lion cubs and go for bush walks with juvenile lions.

What most of the volunteers don’t know is that the majority of the lions they help to raise are destined for the bullets of wealthy trophy hunters.

“Wildlife volunteering in Africa is huge. Kids from all over the world want to come here to help animals,” says Blood Lions director, Bruce Young. ”The organisers of the conference are key players in this whole industry and, given its location, timing and content, you would have thought that sharing Blood Lions with delegates would be a valuable exercise. We’re not trying to discourage volunteering, but we do want youngsters who end up at lion breeding facilities to ask themselves some crucial questions: where do all of these cubs come from and where do they end up?”

According to Wendy Morrill, one of the conference organisers, “several discussions were had regarding if and how to share relevant content from the film with WYSTC 2015 delegates. Unfortunately the involved parties were not able to come to terms of mutual agreement”.

“We are, however, running a session on lion programmes and volunteer organisations for registered delegates”. This workshop will be hosted by Dr Jackie Abell of the African Lion Environmental and Research Trust (ALERT), which claims to focus on lion conservation through research, education and responsible development. It promotes operations that allow tourists to walk with lions in Zambia and Zimbabwe, and bases much of its work on the suggestion that captive-bred lions can be successfully re-introduced into the wild.

South African conservationist Ian Michler, who is the central character in Blood Lions, has criticised ALERT for attempting to “legitimise their lion captive-breeding programmes and money-spinning tourist operations … under the banner of conservation, science or education”, while a group of researchers who examined ALERT’s assertions found that “the lion encounter industry relies on animals so habituated to human presence that they can never be released”, that “untrained volunteers are placed in extraordinarily dangerous situations that have resulted in attacks, including fatalities”, and that “captive-origin lions have no role in species restoration”.

One of the sponsors of WYSTC 2015 is African Impact, “a Cape Town based volunteer experience organisation,” which “helped establish” and has a “strong partnership” with ALERT.

Conference delegates have been invited to an unofficial, free screening of Blood Lions on Tuesday, 22 September at 5:30pm at the Cullinan Hotel, across the road from the conference venue.

On 7th October, MSNBC will present the American television premiere of Blood Lions, a compelling documentary which takes audiences inside the so called “canned lion hunting” industry in South Africa. Blood Lions will air at 22.00 on the East Coast and at 23.00 on the West Coast.

Blood Lions follows environmental journalist and safari operator, Ian Michler, and American hunter, Rick Swazey, as they expose the multi-million dollar industry of canned hunting – where lions are bred and raised in confined areas for trophy hunting. Also known as captive bred lion hunting, canned hunts allow hunters to select their lion ahead of time and complete a hunt in a matter of days. Canned hunts provide a cheaper and faster way of hunting predatory animals compared to wild lion hunts.

It’s a world many Americans do not know exists and yet, Americans are in large part the ones fuelling the industry. In the wake of the hunting and death of Cecil the lion, the film reveals a dark dimension to trophy hunting in Africa.

The documentary includes the perspective of both proponents of this practice who say that hunting helps preserve Africa’s lion population and conservationists who are quick to dispute that claim.

Senior Producer for MSNBC, Tim Smith, commented that, “Blood Lions is a revelatory and sad tale that demands to be told – and we are pleased to be able to bring it to our viewers.”

Ian Michler, environmentalist and a lead character in Blood Lions, had this to say: “While it is true that the majority of trophy hunters coming to South Africa are from the USA, and that many of them are going after captive-bred lions, it is equally true that Blood Lions is also receiving significant support in the USA. This support ranges from donors and the wider citizenry who are concerned or outraged about what is going on to decision-makers and politicians. I would like to thank all of you – the millions of Americans who have been so outspoken and vociferous about predator breeding and canned hunting – your support has been vital to raising the profile of Blood Lions around the world. For all of us, the first screenings of the film here are very exciting and we so look forward to getting actively involved in the campaign across your great country.”

Producer, and driving force behind the film, Pippa Hankinson said, “We have been overwhelmed by the extraordinary response that Blood Lions has received from so many across the USA, and are immensely grateful to MSNBC for the incredible opportunity to premiere this important story on American television. The film exposes the cruel exploitation of South Africa’s lions which are being intensively bred on farms resembling large scale puppy mills.   These magnificent animals are being bottle fed and hand reared simply for the bullet – for vast profits – in an industry which is not open to public scrutiny. Blood Lions is a call to action – a call to all who view it to make conscious choices around our responsibilities towards our planet and the amazing creatures with whom we have the privilege to share it. Our hope is that our film will help make the changes that are so needed, to ensure that our children’s children will be able to see these majestic animals roaming free in the wild – where they rightfully belong!”