Media Articles – Page 10

Big cat banquets and ‘deboned’ live tigers: a new film exposes the gruesome scale of the tiger trade

This is an excerpt from an article written by Tracy Keeling and published online by The Canary on 19 November, 2020.

Tigers are in a very precarious situation, with only a few thousand of the endangered big cat now existing in the wild. The tiger trade is thriving, though, despite stringent rules on paper that are meant to keep it at a minimum. The gruesome scale of the trade is the focus of an upcoming film called The Tiger Mafia by Karl Ammann and producer Laurin Merz.

A 10-year-long investigation

Over ten years, the filmmaker and author investigated the tiger trade, predominantly in China and Southeast Asia. Ammann and his team travelled under the guise of tourists, often filming covertly using hidden cameras and drones, in order to document the “realities on the ground”. The film’s trailer explains:

Long before it was talked about in the media, Karl has exposed the bushmeat crisis in Africa and crimes against animals in general. Now he’s up against a criminal network that grows faster than the drug cartels worldwide. His investigation into the trafficking of endangered animals led him down a dark rabbit hole, a world that was much darker than even Karl could have imagined.

Animal charity Four Paws contributed to Ammann’s findings with its research into the tiger trade in Europe. As it states on its website, the documentary exposes “breeding farms keeping thousands of tigers, tiger petting zoos” and the widespread sale of “traditional medicine and luxury items made from their body parts”.

Captive lion breeding damages SA’s tourism reputation

This is an excerpt from an article written by Melissa Reitz and published online by Business Live on 16 November, 2020.

There are an estimated 12,000 captive lions in the country, while fewer than 10,000 wild lions roam the continent.

Despite overwhelming worldwide opposition, including a parliamentary resolution to close down the captive lion breeding industry, SA’s government is ignoring red flags that the industry is damaging the country’s reputation and deliberating on a 2020 annual trade quota for the export of lion bones.

The Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries said in April that the decision for a lion bone quota has been deferred to later this year. It claims that public opposition and a 2019 court case between the minister and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), who say breeding and trade in captive-bred lion parts raise significant welfare issues, have delayed determining last year’s export quota…

It’s high time SA shut down the captive lion breeding industry

This is an excerpt from an article written by Andreas Wilson-Spath and published online by Daily Maverick on 12 October, 2020.

Will the government and its high-level panel finally accept the overwhelming evidence that captive lion breeding should be stopped?

A small number of people breeding lions in captivity is holding South Africa’s wildlife reputation hostage with strawman arguments about the supposed benefits of the industry when, in fact, both public and scientific debate has conclusively demonstrated that it has no conservation value, that it is damaging to the country and that it should be closed down.

That was the conclusion of the parliamentary portfolio committee on environmental affairs after a colloquium including a wide range of stakeholders as far back as 2018. In a damning report, the committee described the industry as an “international pariah” and “a blemish on South Africa’s wildlife and tourism landscape” that “might have done irreparable damage” to the country globally.

It further observed that, while currently lawful, the industry’s practices are seen as unethical, immoral and socially unacceptable with zero conservation value, as captive-bred lions cannot be released into the wild and have minimal economic value.

Young South Africans on #WorldAnimalDay – ‘We are fighting for our legacy’

This is an excerpt from an article written by Louzel Lombard Steyn and published online by The South African on 12 October, 2020.

In line with the mission of World Animal Day, young South Africans have stepped up to raise welfare standards and conserve our collective wildlife heritage, starting in South Africa.

A new generation of South African conservationists is on the rise and on World Animal Day, young leaders called for a resolute approach in saving South Africa’s wildlife heritage.

Citing issues such as the ongoing trade in captive lion parts, rhino poaching, marine protection as well as the South African government’s current objective to escalate the use of wild animals as commercial trade goods, the new generation of wildlife warriors say this is not the legacy they want to leave behind.

A SHAMEFUL INHERITANCE
“We know we are fighting for our legacy,” says Phelisa Matyolo who was one of five South African youth rhino ambassadors who visited Vietnam in 2015 to appeal to its people to urgently bring an end to rhino poaching.

At the time, her Asian peers did not realise that the rhinos were being killed to obtain the horn.

“Our visit to Vietnam made a big impact,” she says. “It was young people, speaking to other youngsters. The children of the Asian tribes never understood the importance of rhino on our continent. Now, the youth of Vietnam is spreading the word among their own people to stop killing wildlife.”

It’s no coincidence that the year that followed showed the first downward trend in poaching in South Africa.

The carnage continues, however. Recent amendments to SA’s Animal Improvement Act and Meat Safety Act as well as the appointment of a seemingly one-sided high-level panel reviewing SA’s policies and legislation of our most iconic species, appear to be driving the wholesale commodification of our wildlife.

South Africa currently has over 10,000 big cats in captivity for use in tourism activities, canned hunting and slaughter for their bones.

Conservation: Ramaphosa petitioned to halt big cat breeding

This is an excerpt from an article written by Don Pinnock and published online by The South African on 06 October, 2020.

While government, wildlife farmers and NGOs remain locked in discussion about the future of lions, elephants, rhinos and leopards, the British conservation organisation, Born Free, has called on President Ramaphosa to close down the predator breeding industry.

Born Free has gathered around 250 000 signatures calling on the South African authorities to end the hunting of captive-bred lions as well as breeding and keeping them in captivity for commercial purposes.

It says that if South Africa is to be regarded as a responsible and ethical custodian of its wildlife and a country that cares about wildlife, urgent action needs to be taken to bring an end captive breeding and the sale of lion bones and skeletons into international markets.

Failure to do this, it warns, will have a huge impact on international tourism to the country, which is already struggling to recover from COVID-19 lockdowns.

“The industry’s unashamed exploitation of lions as cheap tourist props,” say Born Free, “is seriously damaging South Africa’s reputation as a wildlife tourism destination. Our petition, consisting of a quarter of a million signatures, demonstrates the strength of international public feeling.”

Zoonotic disease: Study warns about cuddling, keeping and slaughtering farmed lions

This is an excerpt from an article written by Louise de Waal and published online by Daily Maverick on 30 September, 2020.

Wild lions can kill you, but farmed lions pose a far greater threat in terms of more than 80 zoonotic diseases that could be passed on to humans.

A joint scientific study by Blood Lions and World Animal Protection has identified 63 pathogens (including bacteria, parasites and viruses) that affect both wild and captive lions. Some of these can be passed from lions to other animals and humans.

The study listed 83 diseases and clinical symptoms associated with these pathogens, highlighting the potential harm they can cause to the health of both animals and people. It warns that this poses a potential health risk to thousands of local and international tourists as well as farm workers and their families.

In South Africa, more than 8,000 lions are bred and kept on commercial farms for tourism, hunting and the bone trade.

The researchers reviewed almost 150 scientific studies on lion-linked diseases. “Wildlife farms can be a hotbed for these diseases,” according to the study, “especially when poor hygiene, poor diet and other stresses associated with captivity weaken wild animals’ immune systems. These can spread rapidly when large numbers – and sometimes even different species – of wild animals are kept in the same enclosures, as this increases the risk of transmission.”

Captive lion breeding: Why are we allowing this?

This is an excerpt from an article written by Melanie Verwoerd and published online by News24 on 16 September, 2020.

Why is it, at a time when South Africa is going around the world to ask for loans, debt repayment holidays as well as investment, that we insist on permitting a trade that seriously damages our image internationally because of its cruelty?

I’m talking about the captive lion industry.

Blood Lions wins another appeal, this time against wild cat ‘rehab facility’

This is an excerpt from an article published online by The Citizen on 11 September, 2020.

Zanchieta Wild Cat Farm alleged that the images and footage were defamatory, and accused Blood Lions of being the reason why volunteer agencies no longer refer volunteers to the facility.

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by a wild cat ‘rehabilitation centre’, after Blood Lions showed the facility in its 2015 documentary.

Images of Zanchieta’s lions, and an interview with one of its representatives, was shown in the Blood Lions documentary. Zanchieta Wild Cat Farm alleged that the images and footage were defamatory, and accused Blood Lions of being the reason why volunteer agencies no longer refer volunteers to the facility.

Blood Lions is an organisation concerned with stopping the captive-bred lion industry, canned hunting and the export of bones and body parts.

World Animal Protection calls for total ban on export of lion parts

This is an excerpt from an article written by Pearly Magubane and published online by SABCNews on 29 August, 2020.

The Tourism Business Council of South Africa has welcomed the opening of domestic tourism.

The following story contains graphic description, which may upset sensitive readers, including children.

The World Animal Protection (WAP) has called for the total ban in the export of lion parts.

Treeshake founder Dave Duarte leads the South African WAP campaign and says the lions spend time in confinement, until they are ready to be killed for their bones. These bones are then shipped abroad for use in traditional medicine in Asia.

WAP says every day thousands of wild animals are poached, farmed or sold into the global multi-billion dollar trade. These wild animals are being traded for food, pets, traditional medicine and entertainment.

Duarte says in 2019 there were around 8 000 lions in captivity in South Africa.

“To put this number in perspective, throughout the whole of Africa, there are only around 20 000 lions left in the wild; so almost half of all lions are in captivity. If people want to stop this, we need to call for a total ban in the export of the lion parts. South Africa currently allows for quotas where certain amounts of bones can be exported illegally. But this sends an unclear message to the market. It doesn’t communicate that this is wrong and it’s unethical, this is pillaging Africa’s heritage.”

Locally, South Africa contributes to the wildlife trade by rearing lions for their bones. The bones are then legally sold to South East Asia to supplement the tiger bone industry. The bones have been known to sometimes be taken while the animal is still alive in order to ensure those harvested are pink in hue.

‘Bottle-fed or not, lions remain dangerous’: Warning after lodge owner’s death, as family mourns

This is an excerpt from an article written by Iavan Pijoos and published online by TimesLIVE on 28 August, 2020

The family of Limpopo lodge owner Arthur “West” Mathewson, killed by a lion this week, are saddened but find comfort in knowing he died “while living his dream of being in nature and with his lions that were so close to his heart”.

This is according to family spokesperson Marina Botha.

West was well known in the community for walking his lionesses Demi and Tanner, she said.

“One of them started attacking their owner [Mathewson] without any warning,” during their regular walk on Wednesday.

His wife, Gill Mathewson, witnessed the incident from the vehicle where she was driving behind West and the lionesses.

“She tried her best to rescue her husband, but was unable to do so.”

According to Gill, Mathewson was always “very careful” when interacting with the lions and took all safety measures that he could.

An activist group has warned that lions remain wild animals and should always be treated with respect, with no human interaction.

“Blood Lions does not support the interaction of humans with wild animals. There is no need to do that and holds no conservation value,” said Nicola Gerrard, of the Blood Lions campaign.

“While these lions were domesticated from a young age, they are still extremely dangerous and have a wild instinct.

“The conservation community will tell you that it is not advisable to be interacting with wild animals in captivity.”