#ThinkBeforeYouGo: If you are given the opportunity to touch, hold, feed or play with a wild baby animal in captivity in any shape or form, the activity is unethical according to the SATSA guidelines and should be avoided.
Why avoid tactile interactions with infant wildlife?
Infants are removed from their mothers prematurely
The animals don’t have freedom of choice
The animals are forced to exhibit unnatural behaviour
It serves no educational value
It serves no conservation value
Removing infant animals from their mothers prematurely is extremely stressful, unnatural for both the mother and the infant, and can lead to long-term health issues. It is not in the animal’s best interest to remove an infant from its mothers for human gratification.
Wild animals are naturally fearful of humans and any tactile interaction between a wild infant animal and a human is unethical.
There are many reasons why Blood Lions and our partners around the world are in support of the Minister’s recent announcement to end the predator breeding industry in South Africa and the subsequent draft Policy Position document on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.
The reputational and marketing damage to Brand SA and our proud conservation and ecotourism heritage that comes with failing to act is one of the most important issues. By ending the commercial captive lion breeding and keeping practices, the Minister and government will be sending a compelling message to the world that South Africa indeed supports sound conservation, and our tourism products are ethical, responsible and authentic.
After the release of the Blood Lions documentary in 2015, the campaign launched the Born to Live Wild Tourism Pledge. Every one of the 200 logos below, of which half are internationally recognised South African tour operators, representing 2,738 members worldwide, commit:
To not knowingly book or otherwise support any captive lion breeder or tourist facility that contributes to the cycle of breeding, exploitation and senseless killing of predators. This includes all petting and walking with lions activities.
To continue our support and promotion of the formal conservation community in their endeavours to secure the survival of Africa’s predators in the wild. Without wild lions and the rest of the predator guild extant in functioning ecosystems, there will be no African tourism industry – a calamitous situation for many economies.
To continue in our own endeavours towards wildlife conservation and economic development wherever we operate across the world.
To continue supporting an ethical and responsible interaction with wilderness and wild animals in their natural habitat.
To continue promoting Africa as an authentic, wild and rewarding tourism destination.
This means, the signatories of our Born To Live Wild pledge have committed to keeping South Africa’s iconic species wild and do not support any facility that contributes to the cycle of captive breeding, canned hunting and the wider commercial exploitation of wild animal species.
This pledge places every one of these operators, as well as their subsidiary companies and guests, as firm supporters of the High-Level Panel recommendations, the Minister’s announcement to end predator breeding, and the subsequent draft Policy Position on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.
We would like to draw attention to the following statistics provided in the State of the Wildlife Economy in Africa report, compiled by the African Leadership University School of Wildlife Conservation (2021). According to their study, the total contribution of travel and tourism in 2019 was US$24.6 billion or approximately 7% of the total South African economy creating 1.4 million jobs (i.e. 9.1% of total employment). In contrast, the direct contributions to SA’s economy in 2015 from trophy hunting were a mere US$153 million and the wider wildlife ranching sector contributed a further US$438 million.
Clearly, the risks in continuing the commercial captive predator industry, with all its spin-off activities such as canned hunting, tourism interactive activities, and lion bone export trade, are substantial.
Warm regards,
Dr Louise de Waal
On behalf of Blood Lions and our Born to Live Wild signatories
The first one of five groups of captive wildlife activities to AVOID, as highlighted by the SATSA guidelines, is supporting facilities which keep and/or profit from performing animals.
Why avoid activities with performing animals?
The animals don’t have freedom of choice
There is unnecessary hands-on training and handling involved
The animals are forced to exhibit unnatural behaviour
It serves no educational value
It serves no conservation value.
In order to perform in a public show or display, the animal would have undergone some form of training, often involving corporal punishment, tethering and/or food deprivation.
Performing animals may include: elephants, predators, primates, cetaceans (aquatic mammals such as dolphins and whales), birds and reptiles.
The SATSA Guidelines and Decision Making Tool were created around an ethical framework with an African approach, which recognises the importance of Ubuntu and the relationship between animals, the environment in which they live, and their connection to humans.
The guidelines state that “the interests of animals should not be subordinate to the benefits humans derive from their existence”. Meaning, if a captive wildlife facility clearly prioritises human interest(s) (which can be financial, gratification, entertainment, information) over the animal’s wellbeing, it can immediately be considered unethical.
Which captive wildlife tourism activities would you say can immediately be deemed as unethical, and which are in the grey area for you? These are questions that are often not easy to answer and may be different for many of you. SATSA created their guidelines and tool to make these decisions easier and more objective.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) have reopened public participation regarding the draft Policy Position on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.
Blood Lions, FOUR PAWS, World Animal Protection, Born Free Foundation and Humane Society International – Africa have jointly created a petition asking the public to urge the South African Government to follow through on its plans to further the protection of its iconic species.
Following the High-Level Panel recommendations and Minister Creecy’s announcement on 2 May 2021 that South Africa would no longer breed captive lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) gazetted a draft Policy Position on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.
The public comment period on the draft Policy Position has been extended to 14 October 2021 and we are calling on members of the public to submit their comments or simply sign the petition in support of the Minister and DFFE’s transformational policy shift.
Minister Barbara Creecy and her Department are implementing a New Deal for South Africa’s people and wildlife and your support is required to ensure vibrant, inclusive transformation of the wildlife sector, rural socio-economic development and the safeguarding of our iconic species.
The Minister is unfortunately receiving significant opposition from a minority of industry players currently benefiting from exploitative and unethical industries which she is seeking to phase out and ultimately end. It is therefore imperative that we unequivocally support the Minister and DFFE in this transformational shift and encourage the urgent completion of the consultation process and finalisation of the draft Policy Position on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.
In 2019, SATSA drew a firm line in the sand concerning captive wildlife attractions in South Africa’s tourism space, which is a dynamic concept based on ethics.
They identified activities with captive wildlife to avoid, such as wildlife interactions and circuses, which also included captive breeding of big cats, canned hunting and the trade in animal body parts.
Their stance is also aligned with the High-Level Panel sentiments that were recently published in a draft Policy Position paper by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
Join us over the next few weeks as we dive deeper into the world of ethics and wildlife tourism.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Nica Richards and published online by The Citizen on 14 September, 2021
Conservationists and hunting associations are at loggerheads once again, this time over the appointment of a board member who is in support of the ‘ranch hunting’ of lions.
The Tourism Business Council of South Africa’s (TBCSA’s) recent appointment of a new board of non-executive directors has, according to conservation body Lion Coalition, the potential to bring South Africa’s already shaky tourism industry to its knees.
This is because one of the TBCSA’s new board members happens to be the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (Phasa) former president, Dries van Coller.
This may not seem like a contentious issue to the ordinary citizen, but for conservationists, in lieu of Phasa’s stance on captive lion breeding and hunting (also known as canned hunting), this decision does not sit well.
The Lion Coalition’s is appealing to the TBCSA to reconsider its appointment of van Coller to the board, as the council serves as “a key conduit between the public and private tourism sectors in South Africa and brings a fragmented private sector under the TBCSA umbrella.”
