South Africa’s parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs will be holding a two-day colloquium to review the unregulated captive-bred lion industry.

The colloquium, titled Captive Lion Breeding for Hunting in South Africa: Harming or Promoting the Conservation Image of the Country, will be open to the public and will take place on August 21 and 22.

The event will allow members to present arguments for and against the captive breeding of lions, and to facilitate constructive debate around the future of the industry in South Africa. After the discussions, a decision will be made by the committee as to whether the legislation needs to be reviewed and/or amended, or whether to initiate new legislation through parliament.

Recently, the EMS Foundation and Ban Animal Trading released a report, The Extinction Business: South Africa’s ‘Lion’ Bone Trade‚ that revealed startling and alarming factors that have a significant negative impact on worldwide big cat conservation.

The report suggested that the South African government’s strong support of the captive-bred lion industry – that has strong links with international criminal networks – fuels the demise of wild big cat populations by providing a legal channel for the trafficking of illegal big cat parts. It also questioned why the South African authorities seem to believe that this industry is a sustainable and ethical option. It highlighted that the CITES permitting and enforcement process has substantial loopholes and management shortcomings that enable illegal wildlife trafficking, along with poor management by the South African authorities.

In July, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) announced a new lion bone export quota of 1,500 lion skeletons from captive-bred lions –  nearly double the number from last year’s quota of 800 lion skeletons.

Responding to the DEA’s announcement, the team behind the global documentary Blood Lions released this official statement:

‘Blood Lions condemns the recent announcement from DEA that the lion bone quota for export has been doubled to 1,500 carcasses. Unofficial reports in this regard had been circulating for months.

It would seem that the Minister has used a 2015 report, Bones of Contention, put out by Wildcru and the University of Witwatersrand as the basis of the decision. It is worth pointing out that the data in this report is now at least 4 to 5 years old, and that the circumstances around the captive breeding, hunting and export of bones has shifted somewhat. The bone trade may no longer simply be a convenient by-product of hunting, poaching of lions, both wild and captive is on the rise, and so is the demand for lion bones. And the DEA have missed one of the most important cautionary tones in this report: “the trade in tiger bones is an established threat to tiger conservation”. If this pertains to tigers, why would it not be the same for lions?

And Blood Lions is increasingly concerned at the way DEA continues to be involved in matters involving the captive lion breeding industry when they themselves claim their mandate to be solely about biodiversity conservation.’

From African elephants, buffalos and cheetahs to leopards and exotic primates, South Africa is home to a wide variety of wildlife species. They’re undoubtedly one of the many highlights of this beautiful country, attracting millions of visitors every year. As tempting as it is to have a one-on-one encounter with these incredible animals, do the responsible thing, and appreciate them from a safe distance.

It’s important that wildlife should remain and roam freely in their natural habitat and not be confined to small spaces in so-called sanctuaries or parks that promote cub petting and rehabilitation centres. As eager holiday makers, everyone would like an adventure. However, sometimes that perception of adventure comes in the form of animal interaction and tourists flood to animal-petting centres. These centres mislead visitors to believe that they’re promoting conservation and sadly, this is not the case.

Did you know that a wildlife institution should meet the mandates of conservation, release, education and wildlife awareness, and not promote the captivity of and interaction with animals? Unfortunately, there are many establishments in South Africa that do not adhere to this mandate and have been known to use wild animals for commercial exploitation. It’s assumed there are roughly 200 facilities holding approximately 6 000 – 8 000 animals in cages and captivity.

Do your bit and stand up to against this practice! Avoid visiting breeding farms and captive facilities that offer animal interaction experiences. Well known travel organisations such as African Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA) and Thomas Cook have already voiced their disapproval by not offering animal encounter packages. South African Tourism CEO, Sisa Ntshona, has said: ”South African Tourism does not promote or endorse any interaction with wild animals such as petting of wild cats, interacting with elephants and walking with lions, cheetahs and so on.”

Reasons to say NO to animal interactions include the realisation that breeding lions in captivity has no conservation value; captive-bred lions are tame and therefore unable to survive in the wild; fake wildlife sanctuaries easily mislead volunteers and visitors to believe that they’re authentic and promote animal ecology and conservation.

According to Ian Michler (co-campaign leader to the feature documentary Blood Lions) over 100 of the world’s leading safari and ecotourism operators signed up to the Born to Live Wild pledge in 2016. In the pledge, they’re committed to:

• Promoting the wildness of predators.
• Endorsing responsible and authentic tourism destinations.
• Giving support to the legitimate conservation community.

Dr Simon Morgan, Director of Wildlife ACT Fund, says: “We applaud all of those that are willing to stand up and be counted, ensuring that tourism income and volunteer efforts are directed to true conservation efforts.” If animal lovers would like to volunteer at animal centres, it’s best that you contact a conservation agency for a referral to a recognised operation.

Rise up. Be part of the movement – say NO to the exploitation of wild animals. It may be thrilling to touch them, but you must know that it is even more exciting to see them thriving in their natural habitats on a proper safari.