Even professional hunters join a swell of public opinion against predator-breeding

Professional Hunters’ Association of SA (PHASA) president Hermann Meyeridricks has asked the association to re- consider its position on lion hunting. He said last week the campaign against trophy hunting had intensified around canned, or captive-bred, lion hunting. The association’s policy on lion hunting was adopted at its AGM in 2013.

“We took the view our position was a stepping-stone to clean up the captive-bred lion hunting industry and made it clear it was certainly not our final word on lion hunting,” said Meyeridricks.

“Those against the hunting of lions bred in captivity are no longer just a small, if vociferous, group of animal-rights activists.

“The tide of public opinion is turning strongly against this form of hunting. Even within our own ranks, as well as in the hunting fraternity as a whole, respected voices are speaking out publicly against it.”

Director of the Campaign against Canned Hunting, Linda Park said PHASA had seen the movie Blood Lions in Durban on Thursday and could no longer pretend nothing was wrong. “The ‘con’ in conservation is out on the table for all to see.”

Blood Lions exposes “the realities of the multimillion-dollar predator breeding and canned lion hunting industries in SA”.