This is an excerpt from an article written by Sharika Regchand and published in print by Greytown Gazette and online by News24 on 05 May, 2021

MINISTER Barbara Creecy’s announcement recently that South Africa will no longer breed captive lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially has been welcomed.

The minister of environment, forestry and fisheries, Creecy, 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 and tourist interactions with captive lions.

This comes after the release of a report of the 2019 highlevel panel that was appointed to review policies, regulatory measures, practices and policy positions that are related to hunting, trade, captive keeping, management and handling of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.

This is an excerpt from an article written and published online by Smile 90.4 FM on 05 May, 2021

Conservation agency, Blood Lions, has welcomed the decision by the Department of Environment that South African farms will no longer be allowed to participate in the practice of captive breeding of lions.

Minister Barbara Creecy made the announcement on Sunday and said a high-level panel had identified that the captive lion breeding industry poses too many risks to the sustainability of wild lion conservation.

She says her department will now put processes in place to halt the sale of captive lion derivatives – such as lion bones and hides – and the hunting of captive bred lions.

Director of Blood Lions, Pippa Hankinson says this brings to an end the practice of canned-lion hunting.

Listen to the full interview at the link below.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Rachel Fobar and published online by National Geographic on 04 May, 2021

The country’s environment department will stop issuing permits to breed, keep, hunt, or interact with captive-bred lions.

South Africa has taken steps to end its multimillion-dollar lion-breeding industry, which supplies cubs for tourism, lions for trophy hunts, and bones for traditional medicine.

In a statement on May 2, Barbara Creecy, the minster of South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, acknowledged the “view that the captive lion breeding industry did not contribute to conservation and was doing damage to South Africa’s conservation and tourism reputation.”

With this announcement, the government will stop issuing permits to breed, keep, hunt, or interact with captive lions and is revoking current breeding permits. A number of factors are thought to have influenced this decision, including growing public opposition to the industry for being inhumane, possible links between legal and illegal trade in lion bones, and greater understanding of the diseases that animals can pass to humans.

It’s estimated that there are between 6,000 and 8,000 captive lions in private facilities throughout the country, but Ian Michler, the director of Blood Lions, a South African nonprofit dedicated to ending the captive lion industry, says there may be as many as 12,000.

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.”