Global travel conglomerate signs the Blood Lions “Born To Live Wild” Pledge to stop the promotion of exploitative wildlife interactive tourism

 

PRESS RELEASE: 9 May 2019

 

Blood Lions, together with The Travel Corporation, it’s TreadRight Foundation and African travel specialists Cullinan Holdings, Lion World Travel and African Travel, are proud to announce an important partnership.

The Travel Corporation and it’s not for profit the TreadRight Foundation have been partnering with leading wildlife organisations for more than ten years. In their effort to Make Travel Matter, the not for profit works to reduce wildlife crime and to improve the treatment of animals by the tourism industry at large.

The international award winning film Blood Lions® has brought the realities of predator breeding, canned hunting and a variety of other exploitative activities involving lions and other predators to the world’s attention in a way that has not been achieved before.

The film’s powerful visual narrative and the subsequent global “Born To Live Wild” Tourism Campaign and Pledge provide a compelling Call to Action to stop all exploitative wildlife interactive tourism practices, which include cub bottle feeding and petting, walking with lions and posing with wildlife for “selfies.” There is no doubt that the campaign has caused mounting global opposition to these practices.

 

“We are proud to partner with Cullinan Holdings and The Travel Corporation family of brands on this important initiative. Our collaboration with this influential group of travel operators and their sustainable tourism foundation, TreadRight, is a significant step towards furthering the message around responsible and ethical wildlife tourism – both here in South Africa and abroad” –  Pippa Hankinson, Director, Blood Lions.

Michael Tollman explains, “The Travel Corporation, our TreadRight Foundation and Cullinan Holdings have placed responsible tourism practices at the core of our business, it is and has been central to how we operate. We clearly understand the imperative to ethical wildlife practices and made this known to our peers and guests in 2015 with the launch of our Animal Welfare Policy. We are thrilled to continue to move the industry in a positive direction on the issue of wildlife, now with our support for Blood Lions.”

 

The group, comprising more than fifty brands and travel companies, have endorsed the Blood Lions global “Born To Live Wild” Tourism Campaign by adding their logos as signatories to the Pledge, thus committing to aligning their company policy:

1. To not knowingly book or otherwise support any breeder or operator that contributes to the cycle of breeding, exploitation and senseless killing of predators. This includes all cub petting and ‘walking with lion’ facilities.
2. To continue our support and promotion of the formal conservation community in their endeavours to secure the survival of Africa’s predators in the wild. Without wild lions and the rest of the predator guild extant in functioning ecosystems, there will be no African tourism industry; a calamitous situation for many economies.
3. To continue in our own endeavours towards wildlife conservation and economic development wherever we operate across Africa.
4. To continue supporting an ethical and responsible interaction with Africa’s wilderness and wild animals.
5. To continue promoting Africa as an authentic, wild and rewarding tourism destination.

 

In case of any queries regarding the pledge and support of the campaign, please contact:

• Blood Lions on info@bloodlions.org – www.bloodlions.org
• The Travel Corporation and Cullinan Holdings on Shannon.guihan@treadright.org – www.treadright.org