This is an excerpt from an article written and published online by The South African on 03 May, 2021

Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) Minister Barbara Creecy took crucial steps towards changing the status quo of the commercial captive lion breeding industry in South Africa.

Creecy announced at a stakeholder’s feedback meeting in Pretoria on Sunday 2 May that South Africa will no longer breed captive lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially.

The minister has instructed her department to put processes in place to halt the sale of captive lion derivatives (including the appropriate disposal of existing lion bone stockpiles and lion bone from euthanised lions); the hunting of captive bred lions; tourist interactions with captive lions (including so-called voluntourism and cub petting).

“The [High-Level] Panel identified that the captive lion breeding industry poses risks to the sustainability of wild lion conservation resulting from the negative impact on ecotourism, which funds lion conservation and conservation more broadly, the negative impact on the authentic wild hunting industry, and the risk that trade in lion parts poses to stimulating poaching and illegal trade,” said Creecy in her announcement yesterday.

The department will be initiating processes to implement these majority recommendations by the High-Level Panel (HLP), established by the minister in October 2019, in order to mitigate these risks and shift away from this abhorrent industry.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Tyler Leigh Vivier and published online by Good Things Guy on 03 May, 2021

Today is a good day for everyone who has been campaigning to end captive lion breeding in South Africa; Government confirms they will bring it to an end.

South Africa (03 May 2021) – It is a good day for conservationists and animal rights activists in South Africa. Minister Barbara Creecy of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has instructed her department to start the process of ending captive lion breeding in South Africa.

This is a massive win for the team at Blood Lions that have worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the industry and have advocated to have it ended since 2015.

The Blood Lions campaign was launched following the release of the Blood Lions feature film documentary in July 2015. Currently, in South Africa, an estimated 10 000 – 12 000 predators, mostly lions, tigers, caracals and cheetahs, are held in captivity for commercial purposes. Many are used in exploitative tourism activities, such as cub petting, ‘walking with lions’ attractions, as photo props, and in voluntourism. The next stages in their short and unethical lifecycle are the captive (“canned”) hunting for their trophies and/or the legal export of lion bones to South East Asia for traditional medicine, contributing further to the escalating commoditisation of these wild animals.

This is an excerpt from an article published online by CGTN News on 03 May, 2021

South Africa on Sunday revealed plans to ban the breeding of lions in captivity for trophy hunting or for tourists to pet, advocating a more “authentic” experience for visitors.

The decision was in response to recommendations contained in a government study into the controversial practice.

The panel studied the rules governing the hunting, trade and keeping in captivity of lions, elephants, rhino and leopards.

Environment Minister Barbara Creecy told a news conference that the study recommended a halt to the “domestication of lions through captive breeding and keeping.”

“We don’t want captive breeding, captive hunting, captive (cubs) petting, captive use of lions,” the minister said.

The decision, which is yet to be formulated into policy, is likely to set the government on a collision course with the powerful multi-million-dollar industry of captive lion breeding.

The minister said the recommendations were not aimed at stifling the hunting industry.

“Legal regulated hunting of the iconic species under the regulatory environment will continue to be permitted,” she said.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Anita Froneman and published online by Getaway on 03 May, 2021

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) took crucial and long-awaited steps towards changing the status quo of the commercial captive lion breeding industry in South Africa on Sunday, May 2.

Minister Barbara Creecy announced that South Africa will no longer breed captive lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially. She has instructed her Department to put processes in place to halt the sale of captive lion derivatives (including the appropriate disposal of existing lion bone stockpiles and lion bone from euthanised lions); the hunting of captive-bred lions; tourist interactions with captive lions (including, so-called voluntourism, cub petting, etc).

Read the full report here. 

Conservation organisation Blood Lions has long campaigned against the captive lion industry said they are extremely happy with the Minister’s decision to bring an end to the commercial captive lion breeding industry.

This is an excerpt from an article published online by Tame Times on 03 May, 2021

Creecy announced at a stakeholder’s feedback meeting in Pretoria on Sunday 2 May that South Africa will no longer breed captive lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially.

The Minister has instructed her Department to put processes in place to halt the sale of captive lion derivatives (including the appropriate disposal of existing lion bone stockpiles and lion bone from euthanised lions); the hunting of captive bred lions; tourist interactions with captive lions (including so-called voluntourism and cub petting).

CAPTIVE LION BREEDING A RISK TO WILD LION CONSERVATION

“The [High-Level] Panel identified that the captive lion breeding industry poses risks to the sustainability of wild lion conservation resulting from the negative impact on ecotourism, which funds lion conservation and conservation more broadly, the negative impact on the authentic wild hunting industry, and the risk that trade in lion parts poses to stimulating poaching and illegal trade,” said Creecy in her announcement yesterday.

The department will be initiating processes to implement these majority recommendations by the High-Level Panel (HLP), established by the minister in October 2019, in order to mitigate these risks and shift away from this abhorrent industry.

This is an excerpt from an article published online by TRT World on 03 May, 2021

South Africa will clamp down on breeding of the animals in captivity after a review panel concluded the industry risked the conservation of wild lions and harmed tourism, environment minister says.

South Africa has revealed plans to ban the breeding of lions in captivity for trophy hunting or for tourists to pet, advocating a more “authentic” experience for visitors.

The decision was in response to recommendations contained in a government study into the controversial practice.

The panel studied the rules governing the hunting, trade and keeping in captivity of lions, elephants, rhino and leopards.

Environment Minister Barbara Creecy told a news conference on Sunday that the study recommended a halt to the “domestication of lions through captive breeding and keeping. “

“We don’t want captive breeding, captive hunting, captive (cubs) petting, captive use of lions,” the minister said.

This is an excerpt from an article published online by PML Daily on 03 May, 2021

Today at a stakeholder’s feedback meeting in Pretoria, Minister Creecy of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) took crucial and long-awaited steps towards changing the status quo of the commercial captive lion breeding industry in South Africa.

Minister Barbara Creecy announced that South Africa will no longer breed captive lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially. She has instructed her Department to put processes in place to halt the sale of captive lion derivatives (including the appropriate disposal of existing lion bone stockpiles and lion bone from euthanised lions); the hunting of captive bred lions; tourist interactions with captive lions (including, so-called voluntourism, cub petting, etc). (p. 329 HLP report).

“The [High-Level] Panel identified that the captive lion breeding industry poses risks to the sustainability of wild lion conservation resulting from the negative impact on ecotourism, which funds lion conservation and conservation more broadly, the negative impact on the authentic wild hunting industry, and the risk that trade in lion parts poses to stimulating poaching and illegal trade”, said Minister Creecy in her announcement today.

The Department will be initiating processes to implement these majority recommendations by the High-Level Panel (HLP), established by the Minister in October 2019, in order to mitigate these risks and shift away from this abhorrent industry.

“Blood Lions has campaigned against this cruel and unethical industry and its spin-off activities for many years, and we are extremely happy by the Minister’s decision to bring an end to the commercial captive lion breeding industry”, says Dr Louise de Waal (Director and Campaign Manager of Blood Lions). “We commend the Minister in her decisive leadership, and we would welcome the chance to play a role in assisting her, the various Departments and entities in the phasing out process to come.”

This is an excerpt from an article written and published online by CNN on 03 May, 2021

Johannesburg – South Africa will clamp down on captive lion breeding after a review panel concluded the industry risked the conservation of wild lions and harmed tourism, the environment minister said on Sunday.

In the nearly 600-page report, the panel appointed by the ministry in 2019 recommended that South Africa end the breeding and keeping of captive lions for economic gain, including hunting them and tourist interactions such as cub petting.

The panel also recommended an immediate moratorium on the trade of lion derivatives such as bones, which they found to pose major risks to wild lion populations in South Africa.

Barbara Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, responded to the report by saying the ministry would adopt all recommendations in the report which were supported by the majority of the 26-strong panel.

“I have requested the department to action this accordingly and ensure that the necessary consultation for implementation is conducted,” she said at the panel’s presentation, referring to recommendations on captive lions.

Amongst other measures, the ministry will now embark on a consultation process with various stakeholders and develop a policy on biodiversity conservation for cabinet approval.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Elizabeth Claire Alberts and published online by Mongabay on 03 May, 2021

The South African government has made a landmark decision to end the nation’s captive lion breeding industry. This includes closing down facilities that offer touristic experiences like canned hunting and lion petting, and halting the commercial use of captive lions and their derivatives.

News of this decision was made public May 2, when the government released a much-anticipated that detailed the future management, breeding, hunting, trading and handling of captive lions, as well as other species such as elephants, leopards and rhinoceroses. The high-level panel consisted of a diverse group of individuals, including conservationists, scientists, government officials, community leaders, economists, legal experts, trade experts and welfare experts, according to a government press release.

“The Panel identified that the captive lion breeding industry poses risks to the sustainability of wild lion conservation resulting from the negative impact on ecotourism, which funds lion conservation and conservation more broadly, the negative impact on the authentic wild hunting industry, and the risk that trade in lion parts poses to stimulating poaching and illegal trade,” Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s environment minister, said in a statement.

The move is being celebrated by conservationists and animal welfare advocates who have worked for years to expose the numerous issues associated with the captive lion industry, including the unhygienic, stressful conditions that lions are commonly subjected to at these facilities. These conditions not only affect the health of the animals themselves, but also create the perfect environment for dangerous pathogens to spread among the animals, and for disease to spill over into the human population.

“This is a significant shift in thinking, and it’s far, far greater than anyone would have thought a year ago, or even six months ago,” Ian Michler, director of the nonprofit organization Blood Lions, who has worked on this issue for the past 25 years, told Mongabay in an interview. “And it’s the first time we believe that we have a ministry or government that is really committed to dealing with these issues.”

This is an excerpt from an article written in Dutch by Erik van Zwam and published online by Trouw on 03 May, 2021

Het is binnenkort afgelopen met het aaien van welpjes in Zuid-Afrika. Fokboerderijen met leeuwen moeten sluiten.

Zuid-Afrika gaat het fokken van leeuwen, de trofeejacht binnen een omheining en de slacht om botten te exporteren naar China voor de traditionele medicijnindustrie verbieden en uitfaseren.

Dit besluit maakte de Zuid-Afrikaanse minister van bosbeheer, visserij en milieu Barbara Creecy zondag bekend. “Ik durfde niet te dromen dat dit eindelijk werkelijkheid zou worden”, zegt Louise de Waal, directeur van Blood Lions, die met andere natuurbeschermingsorganisaties jaren streed voor het verbod op het fokken van leeuwen.