10 May 2022

In a joint scientific study published earlier this month, Blood Lions and World Animal Protection identified a major research gap that exposes the lack of welfare studies that focus on captive lions housed on commercial farms in South Africa.

“With a substantial captive lion industry of more than 350 commercial facilities holding anything 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. The researchers reviewed more than 90 peer-reviewed scientific papers and found a wide range of physical and psychological conditions associated with keeping lions in captivity globally.

Some of the 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.

“It is under such commercial conditions that lions are most likely to face the biggest welfare atrocities compared to any other captive environment, as the emphasis is on intensive breeding practices that are consumer-driven and income-generation focused and generally don’t adequately address animal welfare and well-being. The lack of welfare studies from commercial lion farms is a major research gap that needs to be addressed urgently”, de Waal said.

The lack of income for captive wildlife facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the absence of national welfare norms and standards for the captive breeding, keeping and trade of lions and other big cats in South Africa, has put the existing big cats in captivity at even more risk of serious welfare issues. In addition, the NSPCA, which is solely mandated with the enforcement of animal welfare in South Africa, is forced to operate without financial support from the national government. 

Subsequent to the publication of a High-Level Panel report recommending the closure of South Africa’s commercial captive lion industry, Minister Barbara Creecy of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) announced on 2^nd May 2021 that South Africa would no longer breed and keep captive lions or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially. A draft Policy Position on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros was gazetted for public comment in June that same year.

A full year on from this announcement and the status of the commercial lion industry remains the same, however the uncertainty of its future is most likely exacerbating the welfare concerns for the captive lions involved. Although the Minister did once again decide to set a zero CITES export quota for trade in lion parts and derivatives including lion bones, as has been the case for the past three years, the breeding, canned hunting, and live trade of captive-bred lions is still legal as are all interactive tourism encounters with cubs and sub-adult big cats.

“We urge the Minister to keep the pressure on the progress of the upcoming legislative changes, as in the meantime the welfare of thousands of lions and other big cats hangs in the balance. We appeal to the Minister to urgently carry out a comprehensive national audit of the current commercial captive lion industry, including the welfare conditions of the big cats involved, in order to minimise unintended negative welfare impacts during the planned phase out of the industry in South Africa”, says Edith Kabesiime (Wildlife Campaigns Manager, World Animal Protection).

Call to Action: Sign the PETITION in support of an open letter to the Ministers of DFFE and DALRRD

Research details:

The Blood Lions and World Animal Protection research team identified 170 different physical and psychological conditions associated with the keeping of lions in captivity that were categorised according to a globally accepted animal welfare model, namely Mellor’s Five Domains Model. The welfare conditions identified fall into the following domains: 

• 72% in the Health Domain (e.g., disease and injury)
• 11% in the Behaviour Domain (e.g., negative behaviours)
• 10% in the Mental Domain (e.g., fear, anxiety & frustration) 
• 4% in the Nutrition Domain (e.g., malnutrition or food and water deprivation)
• 3% in the Environment Domain (e.g., environmental challenges or discomfort arising from the animals’ surroundings)

Link to peer-reviewed paper on welfare of captive lions: https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.31.2.005

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More information

Blood Lions

• Contact: Dr Louise de Waal
• Email: management@bloodlions.org
• Blood Lions is an award-winning documentary feature film and global campaign that works to bring an end to predator breeding and “canned” hunting industries in South Africa.
  www.bloodlions.org

World Animal Protection

• Contact: Evans Kipkorir
• Email: evanskipkorir@worldanimalprotection.org
• World Animal Protection is the global voice for animal welfare, with more than 70 years’ experience campaigning for a world where animals live free from cruelty and suffering. We collaborate with local communities, the private sector, civil society and governments to change animals’ lives for the better.
  Our goal is to change the way the world works to end animal cruelty and suffering for both wild and farmed animals. Through our global food system strategy, we will end factory farming and create a humane and sustainable food system, that puts animals first. By transforming the broken systems that fuel exploitation and commodification, we will give wild animals the right to a wild life. Our work to protect animals will play a vital role in solving the climate emergency, the public health crisis and the devastation of natural habitats.
  www.worldanimalprotection.org

17 March 2022

A brand new “Luxury Eco Lodge and Licenced Zoo” on the Western slopes of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania was brought to Blood Lions attention this week. At a time when South Africa is working so hard to prohibit captive wildlife interactions, other African countries are allowing the establishment of new facilities openly promoting unethical and inauthentic wildlife encounters.

This newly built luxury lodge advertises a “safari experience [to] live and play ethically and sustainably amongst lions, cheetahs, giraffes and elephants”. Where you can have “close-up and real-life encounters” with their “orphaned animals” that are part of their “animal sanctuary”.

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It is not completely clear as to how many wild animal species are already on the property, but from photo evidence on their socials they seem to have habituated giraffes, zebras, Vervet and Colobus monkeys, ostriches, eland and three lion cubs that were ”rejected by their mother”.

Let’s look at some of the 🚩RED flags🚩:

• Any animal sanctuary that allows human-wildlife interaction other than for veterinary purposes is not a sanctuary.
• Lion cubs are very rarely rejected by their mothers, the most likely scenario is that they were prematurely removed from their mother to be hand-reared and habituated for commercial gain.
• The SATSA guidelines on “Evaluating Captive Wildlife Attractions & Activities” state that “the interests of animals should not be subordinate to the benefits humans derive from their existence”. Meaning, if a captive wildlife facility clearly prioritises human interest(s), which can be financial, gratification, entertainment, or information, over the animal’s wellbeing, it can immediately be considered unethical.
• Therefore, the SATSA guidelines put any facility that offers interaction with captive wildlife firmly in the ‘Avoid’ category. #ThinkBeforeYouGo
• In South Africa, the High-Level Panel (an advisory Panel appointed by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment) identified that the commercial captive predator industry damages South Africa’s reputation as a conservation and eco-tourism leader. This applies to all other African countries.
• It is clear from the marketing language used that the owners/ operators have no understanding of ecology, conservation, or ethical and authentic tourism experiences.
• The South African model has shown that where interactive captive wildlife activities exist, other commercial activities, such as canned hunting and the trade in live animals and their body parts, are likely to arise.

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Any country that is privileged enough to have such diversity in wildlife in an array of incredible natural habitats, should not be issuing permits to establish zoos and captive wildlife facilities. The authorities also need to understand that this one facility can attract massive negative attention from around the world. The tourism industry, government agencies and the public can make a firm stand and say NO to captive wildlife interactions. Many organisations in the tourism industry have already done so through the Blood Lions Born to Live Wild campaign.

YOU can make a difference by following the actions below:

14 October 2021

A weighty 75,504 global citizens (including at least 9,011 voices from South Africa) are calling on Minister Barbara Creecy and her Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to implement the New Deal for People and Wildlife, as outlined in the draft Policy Position on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros, without further delay.

On 2 May 2021, Minister Creecy announced her proposal to adopt the vision outlined in the High-Level Panel’s report and its associated goals and recommendations, including the courageous step towards bringing an end to the commercial captive lion industry in South Africa.

In a submission to an extended call for comments on the draft Policy Position document, thousands of South Africans, voices from the African continent and beyond expressed their collective concern about the fate of South Africa’s biodiversity and iconic wildlife, and their support for the visionary draft Policy Position that seeks to redefine South Africa’s relationship with its wildlife.

The public are now asking the Minister to follow through on her promises and set ambitious and urgent time frames for the forward-looking goals outlined in the policy document, including:

• To immediately halt the domestication and exploitation of lion, and the closure of captive lion facilities.
• To reverse the domestication and intensification of management of rhino.
• To prohibit ivory and rhino horn trade under current conditions.
• To restrict ex situ live export of the iconic species.
• To implement an increased wildness, naturalness and wellbeing of fauna focus.
• To adopt the One Welfare approach.
• To embrace a transformative African approach to conservation and ecologically sustainable use, consistent with Ubuntu.

These progressive and ambitious goals proposed by the Minister and DFFE are supported by many organisations, including Blood Lions, Humane Society International – Africa, World Animal Protection, Born Free Foundation, and FOUR PAWS South Africa. These five animal welfare organisations commend the Minister for such a progressive conservation policy and urge her to finalise the policy in order to implement the proposed changes.

These shifts in policy will not only signify a New Deal for people and wildlife, but also position South Africa as a global conservation leader and destination of choice for nature-based tourism, a key future driver of our economy and rural socio-economic development.

The draft Policy Position on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros was developed after a year-long consultation process by the High-Level Panel, established by the Minister, and their recommendations in a 600-page Ministerial report.

The finalisation of the draft Policy Position document is vital to put the necessary processes in place to achieve this new vision and goals in the interest of South Africa, all of her people and its wildlife.

Petition links: Change.org and Care2 Petitions

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Quotes from organisations involved:

Dr Louise de Waal, Campaign Manager & Director, Blood Lions
“The Blood Lions film and global campaign was launched in 2015 and has worked tirelessly to end this cruel and unethical industry and its spin-off activities. We commend the Minister in her decisive leadership to bringing an end to the commercial captive lion breeding industry. However, the welfare of the predators involved in this exploitative industry hangs in the balance and thus swift and adequate action from DFFE and the Minister is required to start implementing a responsible phase out process. In this process, we hope that the Minister will afford all other indigenous and exotic big cats the same fate as she promised for our captive lions.”

Dr Audrey Delsink, Wildlife Director, HSI-Africa
“Tens of thousands of people locally and internationally support our call on Minister Creecy to act now. With One Welfare and wellbeing at the core of this transformative environmental policy, an end to intensive management and the exploitative use of animals may materialise. We urge the Minister to act swiftly to prevent further unnecessary cruelty during the implementation process, particularly for captive bred lions, who cannot remain in limbo during this interim stage towards reform. We stand ready to support the minister and her department during this critical process.”

Fiona Miles, Director, FOUR PAWS South Africa
“FOUR PAWS in South Africa is in full support of the Government’s decision to undertake the progressive resolutions set out within its Draft Policy Paper on the management of five of the country’s iconic wildlife species. We believe the decision to end the captive lion breeding industry is truly pivotal and will change the future of the tens of thousands of lions that are currently being exploited. It is estimated up to 12,000 lions currently suffer across the country, where they are used for tourism purposes, such as bottle feeding, cub petting, walk with activities, trophy hunting and finally, their bones used in international wildlife trade markets. The end of this industry is something FOUR PAWS has been campaigning towards for 15 years and we are at Minister Creecy and her Department’s disposal, to ensure the decisions are implemented efficiently and effectively. We urge the Government to take the necessary action swiftly, in order to prevent further suffering.”

Edith Kabesiime, Wildlife Campaign Manager, World Animal Protection Africa
“World Animal Protection and Blood Lions together with many other stakeholders in the animal welfare and conservation sectors made a wealth of compelling science-based evidence available to the High-Level Panel in written and oral submissions in 2020. World Animal Protection continues to applaud Minister Barbara Creecy for her leadership and the bold steps so far taken, as part of the process to close down the commercial captive
lion breeding industry. We would like to assure the Minister and DFFE that World Animal Protection remains committed and is ready to offer expertise to find practical solutions on how to phase out this industry completely. We should not allow the few individuals profiting from this cruel industry to win. Wild animals have a right to a wild life.”

Dr Mark Jones, Head of Policy, Born Free Foundation
“Since our inception we have sought to highlight the devastating consequences of the exploitation of wild animals for trade, hunting and other destructive purposes. We have also advocated for many years for an end to the commercial lion breeding industry in South Africa, which currently exploits thousands of lions and other captive-bred predators for tourism activities such as cub petting and walking with lions, canned hunting, and the sale of bones and other products into international markets. The progressive reforms proposed by Minister Creecy have the potential to transform South Africa’s relationship with wild animals, and place it at the forefront of regional and international wildlife protection efforts for the good of all. It is vital that they are implemented in full and without delay. We stand ready to work with the South African authorities and other stakeholders to ensure that the reforms are successfully implemented and the objectives achieved, with full regard for animal welfare, and for the benefit of wildlife and wider biodiversity, as well as for the people of South Africa.”

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22 September 2021

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) have reopened public participation regarding the draft Policy Position on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.

Blood Lions, FOUR PAWS, World Animal Protection, Born Free Foundation and Humane Society International – Africa have jointly created a petition asking the public to urge the South African Government to follow through on its plans to further the protection of its iconic species.

Following the High-Level Panel recommendations and Minister Creecy’s announcement on 2 May 2021 that South Africa would no longer breed captive lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) gazetted a draft Policy Position on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.

The public comment period on the draft Policy Position has been extended to 14 October 2021 and we are calling on members of the public to submit their comments or simply sign the petition in support of the Minister and DFFE’s transformational policy shift.

Minister Barbara Creecy and her Department are implementing a New Deal for South Africa’s people and wildlife and your support is required to ensure vibrant, inclusive transformation of the wildlife sector, rural socio-economic development and the safeguarding of our iconic species.

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The Minister is unfortunately receiving significant opposition from a minority of industry players currently benefiting from exploitative and unethical industries which she is seeking to phase out and ultimately end. It is therefore imperative that we unequivocally support the Minister and DFFE in this transformational shift and encourage the urgent completion of the consultation process and finalisation of the draft Policy Position on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.

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10 August 2021

On World Lion Day, the international community celebrates our iconic lions and raises awareness on the plight of these majestic animals in the wild, as well as their captive counterparts.

World Lion Day 2021 holds a more positive connotation as we are celebrating the beginning of the end of the commercial captive lion industry in South Africa. Here, over the last couple of decades, a commercial captive lion industry was allowed to grow to a size of 400+ facilities holding anything between 8,000 and 12,000 lions, along with hundreds of other indigenous and exotic big cat species.

However, following the High-Level Panel majority recommendations to halt and reverse the domestication of our iconic lions, Minister Barbara Creecy announced on 2 May 2021 that South Africa would no longer breed captive lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially.

Since that announcement, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment took further steps and gazetted a draft Policy Position document for public participation on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros. We are now awaiting the final Policy Position paper to be published and the implementation process to be started.

Nevertheless, we need to be vigilant and keep the conversation going, to drive the necessary change that is now within our reach; a South Africa where lions are no longer exploited for commercial gain.

This year, we have more hope than ever for our lions.

07 July 2021

A young female volunteer from Belgium, assisting at a captive wildlife facility in South Africa, was left traumatised after an attack by a captive cheetah last month. Amandine Lequime was filming outside of the cheetah’s enclosure, while her colleague was on feeding duty. As soon as her colleague opened the enclosure gate, one of the cheetahs approached Lequime swiftly, jumped on her back aiming for her throat.

“I lost my balance and fell to the ground, where the cheetah continued to bite and claw my arms and legs until the facility manager succeeded in getting the cheetah away from me. I ended up in hospital for treatment of several deep bite marks and cuts that caused muscle damage and required stitches”, Lequime says.

Subsequently, she found out that the same cheetah had attacked the facility manager two years ago, causing serious neck and leg injuries. 

“The manager told us volunteers to balance the meat tray on our heads while walking into the cheetah enclosures, so the cheetahs can’t knock the tray out of our hands”, Lequime continues.

“Although the facility pleaded with me to keep the incident quiet, I don’t want other volunteers to go through similar frightening experiences. People need to understand that to be close to wild animals is appealing, but not safe.”

Blood Lions Statement:

This is not a stand-alone story, as many paying volunteers and tourists have been attacked by captive big cats in South Africa over the last decade or so. We can only hope that Amandine will be one of the last victims.

Most of the 60-odd facilities in South Africa that offer volunteering opportunities with large carnivores will use direct, hands-on interaction as their main draw card. However, this comes with a huge health and safety risk. We are aware of 50+ incidents involving captive lions, tigers and cheetahs that have been reported in the media – knowing that many more go unreported. A third of the reported victims weren’t as lucky as Amandine and sadly lost their lives during the attacks or as a result of their injuries.

As is the case at many so-called “sanctuaries”, the big cat enclosures at the facility where Amandine Lequime volunteered are designed incorrectly, lacking the required management enclosures separating predators from people. This poor layout forces inexperienced international volunteers (and staff alike) to be in the same space as the predators while performing their feeding and cleaning duties.

It is important to note that captive wildlife often display high stress levels adding further complications to an already volatile and unnatural situation.

This latest incident highlights the importance of the High-Level Panel’s recommendations for “an immediate halt to tourist interactions with captive lions, including so-called volun-tourism, cub petting etc.” It also emphasises the need to extend the captive lion recommendations to all other captive big cats (including all exotic species such as tigers) and reinforces the need to immediately apply the SATSA Animal Interaction Guidelines throughout our tourism sector

29 June 2021

Blood Lions Statement:

Minister Creecy of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has now released a draft Policy Position Gazette on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros. This document is based on the recent High-Level Panel report and its recommendations and is now open for public comment for the next 30 days.

In terms of captive lions, the draft policy position provides a solid foundation for South Africa to move away from exploitative wildlife practices. Amongst others, it recognises that:

• the domestication of our iconic lion threatens South Africa’s reputation as a conservation leader.
• the commodification of lions can damage our tourism brand.
• the trade in lion derivatives poses major risks to wild lion populations.
• the captive lion breeding industry is not in the wider public’s interest.

Significantly, it acknowledges that we have a social and moral responsibility to act humanely, prevent suffering and ensure quality of life for those animals involved in the wildlife sector and suggests adopting the One Welfare approach. These are hugely positive first steps in shifting towards a more ethical and responsible South Africa.

Blood Lions fully supports the species management policy interventions for captive lions outlined in this draft policy position document, including but not limited to:

• Immediately halt domestication and exploitation of lion, and close captive lion facilities.
• Prevent live export ex situ of the iconic species (i.e. into captivity).
• Increased wildness, naturalness, and wellbeing of fauna.
• Adopt One Welfare approach.

We encourage all our supporters to comment on this draft Policy Position document through the appropriate channels and in particular your comments of support on the intended closure of the captive lion industry.

EVERY comment counts, including those of full support!

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Deadline: Tuesday 27th July 2021
Comments FAO: Dr Kiruben Naicker
Email: knaicker@environment.gov.za

Draft Policy Position document: http://www.gpwonline.co.za/Gazettes/Gazettes/44776_28-6_ForFisheriesEnvironment.pdf

16 June 2021

Youth Day (16 June) in South Africa is a day to pay tribute to the youth and recognise the power they have to initiate change. This year, the youth from Youth For Lions are celebrating the recent announcement made by Minister Creecy of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on their decision to end the captive lion breeding industry in South Africa. The youth have shared messages of praise and support for the government, and are encouraging other young people around the world to do the same.

In the newly released report, the High-Level Panel (HLP) recommended that South Africa should no longer breed captive lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially. Minister Creecy and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) have taken the courageous decision 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.

Produced by Youth For Lions, a short video was created by the South African youth to showcase what they thought about this milestone in the campaign:

“The Minister and the Government are listening now more than ever before to the public discourse around these issues, and we need them to know that this decision, as contentious as it may seem, is an extremely positive step in the right direction. Blood Lions and Youth For Lions have offered the Minister our full support in developing and implementing a responsible phase-out plan in order to ensure that the commercial predator breeding industry is successfully closed down in South Africa, once and for all,” says Cath Jakins, Youth For Lions Campaign Coordinator.

By implementing a ban on the use of captive lions and their derivatives, in conjunction with an immediate breeding ban and end to all activities involving captive bred lions, DFFE will effectively take the lead towards building a more ethical and responsible South Africa that the younger generation can be proud of.

“The recent decision made by government to halt the captive lion breeding in South Africa has motivated me to keep on striving for what is right so that we can end the suffering of lions in captivity.” Makaira Kerkhof, Youth For Lions Ambassador.

“This decision is likely to receive backlash, but like so many other instances of exploitation and injustice, we as South Africans are no strangers to pushing against this and we can now proudly say that this is one of the most beautiful countries to live in. This decision is another step towards dismantling old exploitive ways that no longer deserve a place in South Africa.” Stephanie-Emmy Klarmann, Youth For Lions Ambassador.

Youth For Lions is a young, vibrant sub-campaign of Blood Lions®, an international multi-award winning feature film documentary and campaign which sheds light on the South African predator breeding, canned hunting and lion bone trade industries. In 2019 and 2020, Youth For Lions sent Open Letters signed by 324 and 622 people respectively to Minister Creecy and other government Ministers, imploring them to end the commercial captive predator breeding industry. The youth also contributed over 600 artworks to the Blood Lions #800Lions campaign, which landed up on billboards across the country. In addition, over 2,500 young people from around the world have signed the Youth Pledge committing to not supporting animal interaction and captive facilities that exploit wildlife.

Youth For Lions are calling on South African youth to be a part of the solution and send messages of support to Minister Creecy and the Department via our Kudoboard.“We have been lobbying the government to make changes to their policies for years, so now that they have started listening and responding with positive action, we need to take the opportunity to thank them. It is going to be a tough road ahead, but we as the youth stand in full support of this decision” says Jakins.

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More information:

• Read Blood Lions’ official statement on the HLP recommendations HERE.
• Read the Minister’s full speech HERE.
• Download the Ministerial High-Level Panel report HERE.

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Contact Details:

• Contact: Cath Jakins
• Email: info@bloodlions.org
• Blood Lions® is an award-winning documentary feature film and campaign that blows the lid off claims made by the predator breeding and canned hunting industries in South Africa.
• Blood Lions website: www.bloodlions.org
• Youth For Lions is a sub-campaign of Blood Lions® aimed at engaging the worlds youth around how cub petting, walking with predators and volunteering at predator farms is enabling and contributing to the wider captive predator breeding industry in South Africa.
• Youth For Lions website: www.youthforlions.org

Written by Martin Aveling and published with permission.

‘The Artwork That Brought An End To The Captive Lion Industry’

WOAH… hello there, Ego! Let’s rephrase that…

An artwork that, alongside many others, helped campaigners successfully communicate a long-held view that an industry of captive bred lions is not conducive to the health of wild lion populations, nor is it popular amongst the public at large. 

There, that’s more like it.

At the beginning of May 2021, the South African government conceded that canned hunting does not contribute to conservation, and announced that measures would be put in place to end the captive lion breeding industry in the country. This came less than a year after the organisation, Blood Lions, launched their ‘800 Voices for 800 Lions’ campaign, where they used art in a further attempt to appeal to policy makers on a human level, and thus played a part in changing the course of history for lions in South Africa.

What Blood Lions did in identifying the value of art as a tool for communication was shrewd and must be applauded, and indeed imitated.

Let it be made abundantly clear that the true heroes in this story are the campaigners. Blood Lions were amongst those who gathered scientific evidence, scrutinised the detail, alerted the public and did not relent until they were granted an audience with policy makers. Although they requested a meeting with the Minister for Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, they were not granted an audience with her but were given the opportunity to present to the High-Level Panel. At this point Blood Lions knew that they had to make an impression, and so not only did they present their scientific research to the High-Level Panel, they also turned to art to lend a helping hand. ‘#800Lions’ seemed to be the final nail in the coffin, capitalising on many years of tireless campaigning since the release of the ‘Blood Lions’ documentary film in 2015. 

Effective wildlife artivism makes the experience of addressing difficult subjects more palatable, but without compromising on sincerity. Preaching can, at times, be quite off-putting, even to those who are mostly converted to the cause. Passion can sometimes be misconstrued as anger, and a person using words can come across unhinged and confrontational. That is unless those words have been cleverly crafted into a word poem, or put onto canvas with paint. If listening feels difficult, then art is the reward for doing so.

In wildlife conservation, art can be so much more than just a tool for fundraising, but rather act as PR to help conservation activists plead the case to the masses and politicians alike. It is a powerful medium, and with great power comes great responsibility. As the artist, one must always be reminded of ego. After all, I just came along and drew a pretty picture, which is what I love to do anyway. It is through true partnership and by drawing on the expertise of all parties that the best outcome is achieved. Artists have an ability to see the big picture and translate that into smaller ones. We must be allowed to take the lead on creating, however when it comes to the real conservation work, we should defer to the experts and be guided by their knowledge.

When I drew this piece last year, I included an expiry date on the can to represent the age at which this lion cub could expect to lose its life in a canned hunt. Having a real date on the can would also allow us to revisit when the time comes and assess the state of the industry of captive bred lions. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that just one year into the countdown there would be an announcement that the industry is due to be shut down.

Kudos to you, Blood Lions. This news has made my year. 

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More information:

• Download and read the High-Level Panel Report HERE.
• View all the #800Lions submitted artwork HERE.
• Follow Blood Lions on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
• Follow Martin Aveling Art on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Blood Lions would like to thank all 1,300 artists who submitted their Lion Art to our #800Lions campaign.