Public opinion is against lion hunting, says the president of SA’s Hunters’ Association, and changes must be made for a more acceptable policy.

The president of the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (Phasa) has asked the association to reconsider its position on lion hunting, which he has described as no longer tenable and a risk to both the reputation and survival of professional hunting in South Africa.

In a letter recently circulated to association members, Phasa president Hermann Meyeridricks noted that the campaign against trophy hunting has intensified around the canned or captive-bred lion hunting issue since Phasa’s current policy on lion hunting was adopted at its annual general meeting in November 2013.

Broadly, Phasa’s current policy recognises the legality of and demand for captive-bred lion hunting, and the association is working with the predator breeders and government to improve standards and conditions to a generally acceptable level. However, “we have made little demonstrable progress on this front”, Meyeridricks said.

“Broader society is no longer neutral on this question and the tide of public opinion is turning strongly against this form of hunting, however it is termed,” he said. “Even within our own ranks, as well as in the hunting fraternity as a whole, respected voices are speaking out publicly against it.”

“Against this background, I have come to believe that, as it stands, our position on lion hunting is no longer tenable,” said Meyeridricks. “The matter will be on the agenda again for our next annual general meeting, and I appeal to you to give it your serious consideration so that together we can deliver a policy that is defensible in the court of public opinion.”

Most recently a documentary entitled Blood Lions was screened at the Durban International Film Festival. The film is said to “blow the lid off claims made by the predator breeding and canned hunting industries”.

‘Rogue elements’ must be rooted out

In conjunction with the film, a Blood Lions campaign has also been launched with the aim of putting an end to this practice where, “at least two or three captive bred or tamed lions are being killed in canned hunts each day in South Africa. Hundreds more are slaughtered annually for the lion bone trade”, according to the campaign.

“Currently, almost 8 000 predators are being held in cages or confined areas and none of this has anything to do with conservation. If we don’t act now, that number could well be over 12 000 within the next few years,” says the campaign’s website.

On July 17 Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molelwa convened a stakeholder engagement meeting to address issues of lion breeding and hunting.In a subsequent press release, the department said all industry role-players present at the meeting conceded that “rogue elements” were operating within the lion breeding and hunting industries, and needed to be rooted out.

The department said it is prohibited to hunt a lion in a controlled environment or while it is under the influence of a tranquiliser. It is also prohibited to hunt a lion using poison, snares, air guns, shotguns, or by luring it with scent.

Illegal hunting damaging the legal industry

“The organisations [that were] present agreed that the illegal hunting of lions was damaging the legal industry,” the press release said. “However, it was noted that provincial conservation authorities have taken a proactive stance with regards to rooting out illegality.”

Participants agreed to the establishment of a forum to investigate a number of issues related to the lion industry in South Africa. Meyeridicks said the release of the film had raised the public profile of the issue even further, but was not necessarily what triggered his appeal to Phasa members. “It was always our position that the current policy is not where we wanted to end, it is where we wanted to start. And it was always going to be up for review from time to time.”

In the letter to Phasa members Meyeridricks said that with some airlines and shipping lines refusing to transport hunting trophies, Phasa had to face the fact that the lion issue was putting at risk not only the reputation of professional hunting in South Africa, but its survival.

According to Phasa’s website, airlines that have recently banned the transportation of hunting trophies include Emirates, Qatar and Lufthansa.

South African Airways (SAA) last week reversed its decision to embargo the transportation of rhino, elephant, tiger and lion trophies. The embargo was originally implemented following incidents of false declarations and the submission of falsified documents for the shipment of some hunting trophies. It was lifted, effective immediately, after consultation with the department of environmental affairs and commitments that compliance and inspection areas would be strengthened, SAA said in a statement.

Johannesburg – The president of the Professional Hunters’ Association of SA has called for an urgent review of the body’s policy on lion hunting.

Since its policy was adopted in November 2013, the campaign against trophy hunting has intensified, and especially against canned or captive-bred lion hunting.

Association president Hermann Meyeridricks said: “While we are not completely against lion hunting at this point, it is time to revisit our position.”

The issue would be addressed at the association’s general meeting at the end of the year.

“We took the view that our position was a stepping stone to cleaning up the captive-bred lion hunting industry.

“We made it clear that it was certainly not our final word on the hunting of lions.”

Calls for a ban on the hunting of lions bred in captivity are gaining momentum, according to Meyeridricks.

“From my dealings with the media and the community, it has become clear to me that those against the hunting of lions bred in captivity are no longer just a small if vociferous group of animal rights activists.”

“Broader society is no longer neutral on this question and the tide of public opinion is turning strongly against this form of hunting, however it is termed.

“Even within our own ranks, as well as in the hunting fraternity as a whole, respected voices are speaking out publicly against it.”

Also, with a number of airlines and shipping lines refusing to transport hunting trophies, Meyeridricks said the association had to come to terms with the fact that the lion issue was putting at risk the reputation of professional hunting in South Africa as well as its survival.

“I have come to believe that, as it stands, our position on lion hunting is no longer tenable,” he said.

Pretoria, 24 July 2015 – Hermann Meyeridricks, president of the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (PHASA), is asking the hunting association to reconsider its position on lion hunting.

 In a letter emailed to PHASA members today, Meyeridricks says that the campaign against trophy hunting has intensified around the canned or captive-bred lion hunting issue since its current policy on lion hunting was adopted at its AGM in November 2013.

 “We took the view that our position was a stepping-stone to clean up the captive-bred lion hunting industry and made it clear that it was certainly not our final word on the hunting of lions,” he says.

 “From my dealings with the media and the community, it has become clear to me that those against the hunting of lions bred in captivity are no longer just a small if vociferous group of animal-rights activists.  Broader society is no longer neutral on this question and the tide of public opinion is turning strongly against this form of hunting, however it is termed.  Even within our own ranks, as well as in the hunting fraternity as a whole, respected voices are speaking out publicly against it.”

Meyeridricks says that with some airlines and shipping lines refusing to transport hunting trophies, PHASA has to face the fact that the lion issue is putting at risk not only the reputation of professional hunting in South Africa but its very survival.

 “PHASA’s current policy on the issue is, broadly speaking, that it recognises the legality of and demand for captive-bred lion hunting, and is working with the predator breeders and government to improve its standards and conditions to a generally acceptable level.  We have made little demonstrable progress on this front,” he says.

 “Against this background, I have come to believe that, as it stands, our position on lion hunting is no longer tenable.  The matter will be on the agenda again for our next annual general meeting and I appeal to you to give it your serious consideration, so that together we can deliver a policy that is defensible in the court of public opinion,” he says in the letter.

For further information contact Hermann Meyeridricks, PHASA president, on 083 303 0498.

The Born Free Foundation on Wednesday applauded the international premiere of the hard-hitting documentary‚ Blood Lions‚ which “blows the lid off the predator breeding and canned hunting industries in South Africa”.

Last year alone‚ according to the foundation‚ more than 800 captive lions were shot in South Africa.

According to the film makers‚ Blood Lions “shows in intimate detail how lucrative it is to breed lions‚ and how the authorities and professional hunting and tourism bodies have become complicit in allowing the industries to flourish”.

Will Travers‚ president of the international wildlife charity said‚ “South Africa’s failure to address the canned hunting industry has emboldened those who make a living out of the death of lions bred‚ raised and slaughtered on a ‘no kill‚ no fee’ basis.

“The canned hunting industry is unnatural‚ unethical and unacceptable. It delivers compromised animal welfare and zero education. It undermines conservation and creates a moral vacuum now inhabited by the greed and grotesque self-importance of those who derive pleasure in the taking of life.

“Blood Lions lays bare the truth behind the canned hunting industry that‚ far from contributing to the future survival of the species‚ may‚ in fact‚ accelerate extinction in the wild‚ leaving behind a trail littered with rotting corpses of its helpless and hopeless victims‚” Travers said.

Blood Lions‚ directed by Bruce Young and Nick Chevallier‚ premiered at the Durban International Film Festival at 6pm on Wednesday.

 

Approximately 1,000 lions are being shot annually in what we call canned or captured hunts

DURBAN – A South African documentary against the canned lion hunting industry has been causing a stir since it premiered at the Durban International Film Festival last week.

Blood Lions captures a journey inside the heart of an industry where predators are bred, for hunting in confined spaces.

It’s believed to generate around R100-million every year. Producers are pleased after three years of making the documentary. Blood Lions is expected to make distribution soon.

A hard-hitting documentary that explores the breeding of predators and canned lion hunting in South Africa was released at the 36th Durban International Film Festival earlier this week. The 85-minute film follows the work of Garden Route-based safari operator and environmental journalist, Ian Michler, who has been researching and writing about canned hunting practices for 16 years. The film tracks the journey of Michler and American hunter Rick Swazey, who buys a lion online and then travels to South Africa to see how easy it is to shoot it.

Many well-known conservationists and animal welfare experts are interviewed in the documentary, providing a compelling narrative that exposes the horrors behind the multimillion-dollar industry and interrogates claims made by breeders of predators that their actions are in the interests of conservation.

Produced in South Africa by Regulus Vision in collaboration with the Wildlands Conservation Trust, Blood Lions is directed by Bruce Young and noted filmmaker Nick Chevallier. It will be screened at film festivals worldwide and thereafter shown in parliaments in Europe and in the Australian parliament.

The Blood Lions campaign, which aims to bring an end to canned hunting and exploitative breeding of predators on farms across South Africa, will also be given a significant boost by the film’s release. The practice of breeding lions for the sport of hunting them under captive conditions is still legal in South Africa. Minister of environmental affairs Edna Molewa claims canned hunting is banned but that “captive” hunting is legal if the animal hunted is not tranquillised.

Many conservationists, however, disagree. They claim the reference to “captive” hunting is an attempt to hide the reality that, in Michler’s words, “lions are still being bred in captivity to be shot in captivity”. According to Michler’s research, approximately 1 000 lions are being shot annually in South Africa and about 1 100 are killed for the burgeoning lion bone trade in the East. There are about 7 000 lions in cap- tivity across South Africa and as few as 3 000 left in the wild.

Michler says canned lion hunting continues to grow in South Africa and that the Eastern Cape is one of the hubs of the industry. Late last year Port Elizabeth’s Seaview Predator Park was refused its annual rates rebate after the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality accused it of participating in “canned hunting” by selling lions to the Cradock hunting reserve and Tam Safaris, and selling tigers to South Africa’s leading bone exporter, Letsatsi la Africa in the Free State.

“The captive breeding industry has no conservation and rehabilitation value whatsoever,” Michler says. He adds that no recognised ecologist or conservation agency is in support of facilities where predators are bred. Michler has taken the campaign against canned hunting abroad, and has visited the Australian and European parliaments to raise awareness of the practice. As a result, the Australian government placed a ban on the importation of all parts of lions earlier this year.

He is hoping Europe and the US will soon adopt a similar stance. “I hope Blood Lions will show that this type of behaviour should not be associated with progressive-thinking societies, and as a result governments, tourism agencies and ethical professional hunting bodies will act to close down the practices,” he said.

For more information and dates for upcoming screenings of the film, go to https://www.bloodlions.org – or visit the site for the campaign against canned hunting at https://uououhface- book.com/BloodLionsOfficial

Durban – Blood Lions, a new documentary film delivers a damning verdict on the rapidly growing South African industry that breeds, hunts and trades lions in captivity.

Blood Lions, a hard-hitting, locally-produced movie which premiered at the Durban International Film Festival this week, presents a comprehensive behind-the-scenes investigation sure to shock anyone concerned about wildlife conservation and animal welfare.

The film follows South African conservationist Ian Michler as he visits some of the 200-odd facilities estimated to house approximately 6 000 to 8 000 captive-bred lions throughout the country.

Most of the owners claim to be involved in conservation, research, education and tourism, but Michler reveals the true motivation behind the business: supplying lions for the lucrative hunting industry. “It’s just about the money,” he explains. “It’s about breeding wildlife as intensively as they can, as quickly as they can, to make as much money as they can!”

While government continues to insist that there is no such thing as canned hunting in South Africa, they are involved in little more than semantic chicanery, arguing that commercial hunting of captive-bred lions is acceptable even if the lions in question are simply mass produced under appalling conditions with no other purpose than to fall to the bullets of wealthy trophy hunters.

Blood Lions exposes a number of additional revenue streams of the captive-lion industry: a booming trade in lion bones to practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, well-meaning volunteers who pay thousands of rands to work on lion farms but are unaware that most of the cubs they help to raise are destined for the trophy hunting market and similarly uninformed tourists who visit facilities where they can pet and walk with lions.

The South African government has actively promoted this industrialisation of lion breeding, hunting and trading through laws and regulations that elevate market mechanisms and profits to a position of prime motivators in the name of conservation.

Blood Lions is a must-see film that does a sterling job of debunking the fairy tales peddled by the captive lion lobby and makes a strong call for a ban on captive breeding and trophy hunting to stop us from straying any further down this dangerous road.

A new documentary exposes the dark side of a growing South African wildlife business

Up to 7,000 lions are living behind bars in South Africa. Raised in captivity on private breeding farms and hunting “reserves,” some of these animals are petted as cubs by tourists, who can also walk alongside or even feed more mature lions.

Eventually, many are shot in “canned” hunts, in which lions are pursued and killed in confined areas that make them easy targets. Hunt fees can be as high as $50,000.

The hunters take lion skins and heads home as trophies. Lion bones and bodies are exported to Asia for traditional cures.

As new measures are put in place to clamp down on trade in the bones of endangered tigers, the lion bone trade grows. Substituting tiger with lion bone means that lionesses, as well as trophy males, now have commercial value.

The new documentary Blood Lions lays bare the dark underbelly of South Africa’s captive breeding and canned hunting industries. The film will be screened in Durban, South Africa on Wednesday at Africa’s leading film festival.

Owners of private breeding farms say that more hunting of captive-bred lions takes pressure off declining wild lion populations.

Not so, says Dr. Luke Hunter, president of Panthera, an organization dedicated to conserving endangered big cats. “This industry pumps out cats to be shot in cages or shipped to Asia to supply the demand for big cat parts. Blood Lions blows away the hollow ‘conservation’ arguments made by South Africa’s predator breeders to justify their grim trade.”

I hadn’t planned to write a blog post today, and I don’t normally use my blog as a soap box. But then I woke up this morning and heard about the #AnimalRightsInTourism campaign.

If you live in South Africa or the United States, you probably saw last month’s terrible story about an American tourist who was killed in the Lion Park. The Lion Park, about 30 minutes north of Johannesburg, is a zoo-like game reserve where tourists go for an up-close look at lions and other big cats. One of the biggest attractions at the Lion Park is lion-cub-petting, in which visitors enter enclosures with big cat cubs (up to six months old) and are invited to interact with them. (The tourist was mauled by a lioness in the drive-through section of the park. Despite warnings to keep car windows up, the woman had her window open.)

I confess that I’ve never been to the Lion Park. But about four years ago I went to the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve, not far from the Lion Park, which offers similar activities. I knew nothing about these cub-petting programs at the time, but while I was in the reserve I saw a couple interacting with a tiger cub and felt really unnerved.

First, the cub looked way too big to be interacting with people. Second, the keeper in the enclosure was handling the cub very roughly, slapping it hard when it got too playful with the guests. And third, I couldn’t stop thinking about what kind of life that cub was going to face once it outgrew its babyhood job.

It’s been well documented that the cubs involved in these petting programs — which exist all over South Africa and are 100% legal — are frequently sold into the canned hunting industry. Canned hunting farms — which are also all over South Africa and totally legal — buy up captive-bred animals at auctions, or breed the animals themselves, and then charge big bucks for tourists to come to their farms and “hunt” the animals.

The Lion Park denies ever selling its lions into canned hunting, despite evidence to the contrary. (Since the tourist-mauling incident, the Lion Park has also announced that it will end its lion-cub-petting program in 2016. Let’s hope the park follows through on that commitment.) I’m not sure of the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve’s official stance on canned hunting, but according to the reserve’s website its so-called “Animal Crèche” is still going strong. (Read more about cub-petting on my friend Meruschka’s blog.)

I’m not against hunting in general, although why people enjoy shooting animals and watching them die is beyond me. Many of my friends and colleagues will disagree, but I think hunting can be done ethically and I also believe that ethical hunting brings big financial and ecological benefits to local communities in South Africa.

But I am against canned hunting and cub-petting, as well as any tourism activity that puts human beings into physical contact with wild animals. This includes elephant-back safaris, which my friend Kate wrote about on her blog today. As far as I’m concerned, South Africa’s tourism industry would be better off without these activities and I believe they should be banned.

I have one more confession. A couple of years ago I was invited on a media trip to a high-end private reserve in South Africa’s Waterberg region. During that visit, I pet a pair of cheetahs. I justified my actions back then by telling myself that these cheetahs, who had been hand-reared by the couple who managed the reserve, were family pets and would probably never be sold to a canned hunting farm.

But I realize now that my justification was wrong. Those beautiful cheetahs were purchased at an animal auction that almost certainly catered to the canned hunting industry. By petting those cheetahs I was indirectly supporting that industry, and that was uncool.

Blood Lions, a documentary about the canned hunting industry in South Africa, is premiering this evening in Durban. I watched the two-minute trailer earlier today and couldn’t get through it without crying, so I don’t think I’ll watch the whole film. But the Blood Lions release is the main motivation behind today’s #AnimalRightsInTourism campaign. To show your support, please follow Blood Lions on Facebook and Twitter and voice your own opinions about unethical animal practices using the #AnimalRightsInTourism hashtag.

Also, please don’t pet cubs.

“A formal assessment of the South African trade in African Lion bones and other body parts is necessary and urgent says various wildlife organisations”

PRETORIA – The recent meeting between breeders and hunters regarding their role in the management of the lion industry, at which the minister of environmental affairs was also present, has been criticised by conservationists and activists, who say it was one-sided. Conservationists, wildlife organisations and activists were not invited to this meeting.

Only organisations supportive of lion breeding and hunting, including the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa and the South African Predator Association, appear to have been invited.

The minister’s office said the purpose of the meeting was “to address widespread and mounting public concern” about the controversial practice of canned-lion hunting.

It comes at a time when a new documentary called Blood Lions exposes some shocking practices of this industry, and a new international report by TRAFFIC sheds light on the growing trade in these animals’ bones, involving hundreds of South African lion carcasses exported annually to supply the traditional Asian medicine market.

The Department of Environmental Affairs’ official statement about the meeting reveals a fundamental disagreement over what constitutes canned hunting in South Africa.

Although the government and the breeding and hunting industry insist that hunting of captive-bred lions represents the legitimate and sustainable use of a wildlife species, they do acknowledge that “rogue elements” and criminals operating at the fringes of this industry, should be rooted out. They also believe that all that is necessary to rectify the poor public perception of the lion breeding business is to improve and clarify the regulations which govern it.

In stark contrast, opponents claim that factory farming of lions in stressful, unnatural and unhealthy breeding farms for the sole purpose of supplying the lucrative trophy hunting industry, and the secondary income stream from the trade in lion bones, represents a violation of wildlife conservation principles and animal welfare standards, and has no conservation value.

Around 6 000 lions are currently confined in about 150 South African breeding facilities.

While government appears intent on reforming and sanitising the business of breeding and hunting lions, critics want to see it dismantled altogether.  According to the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, no lion breeding is allowed in the Mpumalanga Province, and no permits will be issued.

The President of the Born Free Foundation said earlier that “Blood Lions lays bare the truth behind the canned hunting industry that, far from contributing to the future survival of the species, may, in fact, accelerate extinction in the wild, leaving behind a trail  littered with rotting corpses of its helpless and hopeless victims.”