This is an excerpt from an article written by Karen Singh and published online by The Mercury and IOL News on 10 August, 2022

Campaign manager of Blood Lions Dr Louise de Waal said the public can create a change in the commercial captive lion breeding industry by not supporting the exploitation of these wild animals.

De Waal was speaking as the world commemorates World Lion Day on Wedneday in celebration of one of Africa’s most iconic species and to raise awareness on conservation issues globally.

Lions are recognised worldwide for their importance not only from a nature conservation and ecological perspective, but also symbolically, culturally and in terms of tourism.

A statement by the Blood Lions Campaign said currently 8 000 –10 000 lions and thousands of other big cats, including tigers and cheetahs, are bred and kept in captivity in approximately 350 facilities in South Africa. These predators are bred for commercial purposes, including cub petting, voluntourism, canned hunting, the lion bone trade and live exports.

In honour of World Lion Day, a short video clip was produced by Blood Lions to highlight one stage in the exploitative cycle, namely the cub petting, where thousands of tourists and volunteers pay to play with, bottle feed and hand-raise captive-bred predator cubs

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This is an excerpt from an article written by Tyler Leigh Vivier and published online by Good Things Guy on 10 August, 2022

What would our children say if they knew what was really happening to the iconic lion in South Africa? Blood Lions share a video in honour of World Lion Day and keep the conversation going about ending the trade in South Africa.

Today is World Lion Day (10 August) – a day to celebrate one of Africa’s most iconic species and to raise awareness on conservation issues globally. Lions are recognised worldwide for their importance not only from a nature conservation and ecological perspective, but also symbolically, culturally and in terms of tourism.

The significance and dignity of wild lions in South Africa have been replaced by the commodification of captive lions at every stage of their lives. Currently, 8,000-10,000 lions and thousands of other big cats, including tigers and cheetahs, are bred and kept in captivity in approximately 350 facilities in South Africa. These predators are bred for commercial purposes, including cub petting, voluntourism, “canned” hunting, the lion bone trade and live exports.

In honour of World Lion Day, a short video clip was produced by Blood Lions to highlight one stage in the exploitative cycle, namely cub petting, where thousands of tourists and volunteers pay to play with, bottle feed and hand-raise captive-bred predator cubs. These unsuspecting tourists and volunteers are made to believe that their money will contribute to the conservation of wild lions and that the cubs they interact with will be returned to the wild.

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This is an excerpt from an article written by Adele Mackenzie and published online by Tourism Update on 19 July, 2022

Inbound industry association, SATSA, has welcomed the Department of Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries’ (DEFF) Draft White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in South Africa, highlighting that it aims to put South Africa’s brand reputation as an authentic and responsible safari and wildlife tourism destination on the map.

SATSA CEO, David Frost, explained: “Despite having a range of biodiversity and sustainable-use legislation and policies, Brand South Africa has, at times, taken a battering on the global stage over the past decade, as a result of a range of reprehensible tourism facilities that provided captive lion breeding, canned lion hunting, lion cub petting, lion bone exports, rhino horn farming, etc.”

These created negative publicity for the country’s tourism industry. The proposed new legislation aims to put Brand South Africa first and prohibit these activities.

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This is an excerpt from an article written by Don Pinnock and published online by Daily Maverick on 08 July, 2022

As the world’s biodiversity slips ever deeper into crisis, a ground-breaking South African White Paper demands a paradigm shift to put care of the creatures with whom we share the planet at the centre of our concern.

The White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, gazetted yesterday for public comment, is built around a set of definitions that, if implemented, have revolutionary implications for the welfare of animals in South Africa.

At its core is the contention that nature has value in its own right, independent of human uses, even if it does not benefit humans. Its intrinsic value, the paper says, cannot be calibrated against its economic worth.

The paper, issued by the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, comes close on the heels of a policy document that takes aim at lion farming and the intensive breeding of rhinos.

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This is an excerpt from an article written by Andrea Pluck and published online by MailOnline on 5 July, 2022

Grim footage of big cats believed to be showing signs of eating their own tails in a Mexican wildlife sanctuary has been circulating on social media amid claims that animals are living in terrible conditions.

Mexican actor Arturo Islas Allende, 35, highlighted the animal’s plight in a viral post, which is believed to have been taken at The Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation’s wildlife centre.

The emotional video shows a number of big cats looking frail and emaciated with various sores all over their skin.

During the video, Mr Allende calls the habitat ‘a holocaust’ and says he ‘doesn’t understand how for so long, no one has done anything’ to put a stop to the suffering of the animals.

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This is an excerpt from an article written and published online by the NSPCA on 29 June, 2022

For two decades, the NSPCA has been challenging the captive lion industry and fighting for the welfare and well-being of thousands of captive lions. In addition, the NSPCA is well renowned for challenging the implications and consequences of continued lion bone export quotas following CoP17 of CITES that would have resulted in the further commercialisation and expansion of the captive lion industry, whilst ethical, conservation and animal welfare concerns remained excluded. Since the victorious ruling in favour of the NSPCA, no lion bone export quotas have been released since 2019.

The closure of the captive lion industry has gained further traction, as Minister Barbara Creecy from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) intends to phase out the captive lion industry and a further zero quota under CITES provisions have been made for lion bones and parts for 2022. The NSPCA fully support this renewed transition and firm decision to effectively phase out the captive lion industry.

Minister Creecy further indicated that she would establish a Panel of Experts to formulate and oversee the implementation of a voluntary exit strategy for lion farmers who wish to participate. The NSPCA has every intention to serve on this Panel of Experts.

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This is an excerpt from an article written by Don Pinnock and published online by Daily Maverick on 17 May, 2022

Zoonosis, where disease jumps from animals to humans, caused the Covid-19 pandemic. Apart from welfare concerns, the huge number of pathogens in caged and farmed lions is a time bomb waiting to explode.

In South Africa, up to 8,000 lions are being raised in nearly 400 commercial captive breeding facilities. Every now and then the NSPCA is called in by a concerned neighbour or a conservation organisation snaps some distressing pictures. There’s very little control and no scientific studies on the effect of permanently caging wild lions or holding them on commercial farms. 

In trying to get a scientific handle on this widespread industry, the NGOs Blood Lions and World Animal Protection embarked on a global search for hard facts on captive lion welfare. The results are disturbing.

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This is an excerpt from an article written and published online by Farming Portal on 12 May, 2022

This has been revealed in a joint scientific study published earlier this month by World Animal Protection and Blood Lions..

“With a substantial captive lion industry of more than 350 commercial facilities holding between 8,000-10,000 lions and the complete absence of scientific welfare studies in that industry, we are in the dark in terms of the extent and nature of the welfare issues we are dealing with. The many atrocities found by the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) on commercial lion farms during welfare inspections show that we are not dealing with theoretical challenges, but rather a very real and highly problematic situation”, says Dr. Louise de Waal (Director, Blood Lions). 

The aim of the study was to identify the welfare challenges lions in the commercial captive predator industry in South Africa face on a day-to-day basis. 

Some welfare challenges identified included a wide range of diseases, injuries, malnutrition and obesity, lack of (clean) water, and abnormal behaviours like excessive pacing and self-mutilation, which were all associated with the keeping of captive lions in facilities such as zoos, wildlife parks and sanctuaries across the globe. However, not one study focussed specifically on the welfare of lions exploited by commercial facilities in South Africa.

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This is an excerpt from an article written by Taylah Strauss and published online by Getaway on 10 May, 2022

In a recent study, conservation group Blood Lions and non-profit organisation, World Animal Protection, delved deep into the welfare issues of lions in captivity and called on the South African government to crack down on the exploitative captive lion industry.

The captive lion industry is comprised of more than 350 commercial facilities housing anywhere between 8000 and 10,000 lions, with very little regard for their wellbeing. The study identified 170 unfavourable conditions associated with the industry, such as malnutrition, obesity, dehydration, and abnormal behaviours such as self-mutilation or excessive pacing.

Following a report recommending the closure of the country’s commercial captive lion industry, Barbara Creecy, Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), announced in May 2021 that South Africa would no longer breed or keep captive lions for commercial use.

It has been a year since the announcement, and the captive lion industry has undergone very little change. Breeding, canned hunting and trading of captive-bred lions is still legal, as well as interactive tourism encounters, such as cub petting.

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This is an excerpt from an article written by Don Pinnock and published online by Daily Maverick on 09 December, 2021

The welfare of wild animals in South Africa is being thrown under a bus by dithering departments and inappropriate legislators.

Giving the job of drafting wild animal welfare legislation to the Department of Agriculture is like asking a jackal to look after your ducks. It’s the wrong department for the job. They’re the food police. They administer the Meat Safety Act, the Animal Improvement Act, chopping trees, drought relief, catching fish, pets, draft and performing animals, and exporting sheep. Their vision is sustainable agriculture and food security, for God’s sake.

If you put “animal welfare” into the search box on its website you get Animal Production, Wildlife Ranching, Aquaculture and Animal Improvement. Yet for almost two decades they’ve been tasked with drawing up an Animal Welfare Act. Doesn’t show.

Michele Pickover of the EMS Foundation got it right when she said: “We urgently need new legislative protection for wild animals, but DALRRD lack the competency to write it. Also, the department’s business is slaughter and production plus they’re in bed with the industry. They’re the wrong people to be tasked with wild animal welfare.”

Right now there’s a team of vets supposedly writing an Animal Welfare Bill. Outsiders are not welcome. When the job’s done, they say they’ll consult other stakeholders. The drafters, all Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) insiders, have limited expertise in ethical conservation management, biodiversity policies, wildlife trade legislation or animal protection, economics and welfare. Even Parliament raised a red flag.

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