Blood Lions marks its milestones … there is hope?
Blood Lions is commemorating its 5th (or Wood) anniversary this year and we are using this time of “strength” to consolidate our efforts. Since the release of the Blood Lions documentary film, the campaign has made great strides in our aim to raise global awareness around the captive lion breeding and “canned” (captive) hunting industries, as well as its associated tourism activities.
To mark our 2019 milestones, we have released a new video clip to give HOPE to our supporters and the ongoing campaign. Even though there are now an estimated 12,000 lions in captivity in South Africa, bred purely for commercial purposes, there are also many encouraging developments resulting from our collective voices.
On social media we reached 7.4 million people across the globe in 2019 alone, making use of strong video and graphic content to spread our message. One such clip was the release of a powerful animation of the “Life Cycle of a Captive Lion” produced using Patrick George illustrations, which has been translated into nine different languages (English, Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian and Slovenian).
Blood Lions® has been aired in approximately 180 countries and territories around the world through TV channels including Discovery International, Animal Planet, MSNBC, TV Ontario, RTK, N-Tv, Planéte, People’s Weather, SABC3 and is now also available on Netflix Africa.
In 2019, we screened the Blood Lions film at 21 schools and universities reaching close to 2,000 students. The YouthForLions campaign pledge to not pet lion cubs or walk with lions was signed by nearly 2,000 young people from around South Africa.
The campaign was afforded pro bono online and print media coverage equivalent of over ZAR 7,5 million in 2019.
The icing on the cake however was the release of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) Guidelines and Tool to evaluate captive wildlife attractions and activities in order to help the industry and visitors to make responsible and ethical choices. We would like to congratulate SATSA on developing such solid and timely guidance for the tourism industry and travellers alike.
The SATSA guidelines draw a clear ‘line in the sand’ as to what is no longer considered as acceptable in terms of tourism experiences involving captive wildlife. This includes cub petting, walking with predators, training of animals to ‘perform’, “canned” or captive hunting and the trade in animal parts.
We would like to thank our donors, colleagues, partners and followers for their loyal support over the years. Without you, Blood Lions would not be able to give our captive wildlife a voice.
When travelling in South Africa, THINK before you VISIT, CUDDLE, WALK WITH, VOLUNTEER WITH or SHOOT wild animals being held in captivity.
For more information about the Blood Lions campaign:
- Find our new HOPE video clip HERE
- WATCH the full Blood Lions documentary feature film on Netflix Africa
- View our 2019 Milestones HERE
- Visit our website for more information
- Follow us on social media to stay up to date
