This is an excerpt from an article written and published online by CNN on 03 May, 2021

Johannesburg – South Africa will clamp down on captive lion breeding after a review panel concluded the industry risked the conservation of wild lions and harmed tourism, the environment minister said on Sunday.

In the nearly 600-page report, the panel appointed by the ministry in 2019 recommended that South Africa end the breeding and keeping of captive lions for economic gain, including hunting them and tourist interactions such as cub petting.

The panel also recommended an immediate moratorium on the trade of lion derivatives such as bones, which they found to pose major risks to wild lion populations in South Africa.

Barbara Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, responded to the report by saying the ministry would adopt all recommendations in the report which were supported by the majority of the 26-strong panel.

“I have requested the department to action this accordingly and ensure that the necessary consultation for implementation is conducted,” she said at the panel’s presentation, referring to recommendations on captive lions.

Amongst other measures, the ministry will now embark on a consultation process with various stakeholders and develop a policy on biodiversity conservation for cabinet approval.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Elizabeth Claire Alberts and published online by Mongabay on 03 May, 2021

The South African government has made a landmark decision to end the nation’s captive lion breeding industry. This includes closing down facilities that offer touristic experiences like canned hunting and lion petting, and halting the commercial use of captive lions and their derivatives.

News of this decision was made public May 2, when the government released a much-anticipated that detailed the future management, breeding, hunting, trading and handling of captive lions, as well as other species such as elephants, leopards and rhinoceroses. The high-level panel consisted of a diverse group of individuals, including conservationists, scientists, government officials, community leaders, economists, legal experts, trade experts and welfare experts, according to a government press release.

“The 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,” Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s environment minister, said in a statement.

The move is being celebrated by conservationists and animal welfare advocates who have worked for years to expose the numerous issues associated with the captive lion industry, including the unhygienic, stressful conditions that lions are commonly subjected to at these facilities. These conditions not only affect the health of the animals themselves, but also create the perfect environment for dangerous pathogens to spread among the animals, and for disease to spill over into the human population.

“This is a significant shift in thinking, and it’s far, far greater than anyone would have thought a year ago, or even six months ago,” Ian Michler, director of the nonprofit organization Blood Lions, who has worked on this issue for the past 25 years, told Mongabay in an interview. “And it’s the first time we believe that we have a ministry or government that is really committed to dealing with these issues.”

This is an excerpt from an article written in Dutch by Erik van Zwam and published online by Trouw on 03 May, 2021

Het is binnenkort afgelopen met het aaien van welpjes in Zuid-Afrika. Fokboerderijen met leeuwen moeten sluiten.

Zuid-Afrika gaat het fokken van leeuwen, de trofeejacht binnen een omheining en de slacht om botten te exporteren naar China voor de traditionele medicijnindustrie verbieden en uitfaseren.

Dit besluit maakte de Zuid-Afrikaanse minister van bosbeheer, visserij en milieu Barbara Creecy zondag bekend. “Ik durfde niet te dromen dat dit eindelijk werkelijkheid zou worden”, zegt Louise de Waal, directeur van Blood Lions, die met andere natuurbeschermingsorganisaties jaren streed voor het verbod op het fokken van leeuwen.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Sifiso Zulu and published online by Eyewitness News on 03 May, 2021

JOHANNESBURG – The Blood Lions campaign on Monday said private farmers keeping lions in captivity should stop using conservation as an excuse for breeding these animals.

South Africa has for years drawn global criticism for allowing these practices to continue and this has affected the country’s brand in the ecotourism sector.

The campaign, which has been pushing for an end to canned lion hunting, estimated that at least 10,000 lions are being kept in deplorable conditions in about 300 facilities across the country.

A high-level government panel has recommended that South Africa begins the process of banning breeding lions, leopards, and rhinos among others in captivity for hunting.

The Blood Lions campaign has welcomed recommendations to halt and reverse the domestication of lions through captive breeding and keeping as a step in the right direction.

The campaign’s manager Dr Louise de Waal said there was no outright justification that captive breeding practices resulted in the conservation of wild animals.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Mark Steenbok and published online by E-TV News on 03 May, 2021

South Africa is on its way to becoming a world leader in animal conservation. This after Cabinet’s endorsement of a report calling for an end to captive lion farming, captive lion hunting, cub petting and the commercial farming of rhinos. The High Level Panel’s 580-page report on Lions, Rhinos, Elephants and Leopards needs to make its way through Parliament before becoming law.

But it’s decisive particularly on South Africa’s treatment of lions. It calls for an end to the exploitation of the King of the Beasts in our country.

Minister of Environmental Affairs, Barbara Creecy has instructed her department to put in place processes to stop the sale of captive lion derivatives,the hunting of captive bred lions and tourist interactions with captive bred loins.

Watch the full television interview at the link below.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Siyamthanda Matiso and published online by Radio 702. on 03 May, 2021

Blood Lions campaign Manager Dr Louise de Waal says they welcome a ban on the breeding of lions in captivity for trophy hunting.

Minister Barbara Creecy on Sunday announced that there will be a ban when it comes to the breeding of lions in captivity for trophy hunting or for tourists to pet, in a bid to promote a more “authentic” experience.

She has since instructed her Department to put processes in place to halt the sale of captive lion derivatives, this includes 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.

Campaign Manager for Blood Lions, Dr Louise de Waal, says they are in support and still coming to terms with the minister’s announcement as it will bring enormous change which they as an organisation has been campaigning for many years since the launch of their documentary in 2015.

Listen to the full interview at the link below.

This is an excerpt from a statement issued by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and published online by Polity on 03 May, 2021

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) cautiously welcomes and supports the release of the report by the High-Level Panel (HLP) “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.”
 
The IFP has been campaigning against the issue of captive-bred lion hunting since 2014, and IFP MP, the late Mario Oriani-Ambrosini, addressed the first Global March Against Canned Lion Hunting in March 2014. The issue has since been taken up and championed by Narend Singh, the former KZN MEC for Environmental Affairs and current IPF MP and Spokesperson on Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries.

Hon. Singh facilitated viewing of documentary Blood Lions for the parliamentary Environmental Portfolio Committee, which was then chaired by late Hon. Jackson Mthembu, who later ascended to being Minister in the Presidency.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Jan Gerber and published online by News24 on 03 May, 2021

The end is in sight for the captive lion industry, after a high level panel found it poses a risk to sustainable wild lion conservation and negatively impacts tourism.

Among the panel’s recommendations is that South Africa does not captive-breed lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially.

This is an excerpt from an article written and published online by BBC News on 02 May, 2021

South Africa has revealed plans to clamp down on breeding lions for hunting or so tourists can pet cubs.

The move comes after the results were published from a two-year study into the controversial practice of captive lion breeding.

It found that the practice risked conservation efforts and harmed wild animals.

South Africa’s government accepted the panel’s recommendations which could anger the hunting industry.

“What the majority report says, with regards to captive breeding of lions: it says we must halt and reverse the domestication of lions through captive breeding and keeping,” environment minister Barbara Creecy said.

“We don’t want captive breeding, captive hunting, captive petting, captive use of lions and their derivative.”

This is an excerpt from an article written and published online by Reuters on 02 May, 2021

South Africa will clamp down on captive lion breeding after a review panel concluded the industry risked the conservation of wild lions and harmed tourism, the environment minister said on Sunday.

In the nearly 600-page report, the panel appointed by the ministry in 2019 recommended that South Africa end the breeding and keeping of captive lions for economic gain, including hunting them and tourist interactions such as cub petting.

The panel also recommended an immediate moratorium on the trade of lion derivatives such as bones, which they found to pose major risks to wild lion populations in South Africa.

Barbara Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, responded to the report by saying the ministry would adopt all recommendations in the report which were supported by the majority of the 26-strong panel.