According to a Daily Maverick article, South Africa is one of the top 3 suppliers to the global wildlife trade. Despite being legal, loopholes are often exploited, and conservation regulations are bypassed. Between 2013 and 2023, South Africa legally exported more than 16 million live wild animals, including millions of birds and fish, and tens of thousands of reptiles and mammals.
What does this mean for indigenous and exotic predators (other than lions), such as leopards, cheetahs, caracals, servals, and tigers, bred commercially in captivity in South Africa?
How many other predators are bred in captivity in South Africa?
We know that South Africa breeds a significant number of predators commercially, in addition to lions. In 2023, the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) did a national audit of all other predators in captivity, in addition to lions.
South Africa holds at least 2,018 leopards, cheetahs, caracals, servals, and tigers, with the Free State and North West provinces holding the majority of these predators for commercial purposes. But in reality, the numbers are most likely higher since some provinces chose not to provide the MTT with the requested data on the number of captive predators.
The minimum number of tigers, leopards, cheetahs, caracals, and servals held in captivity in South Africa’s commercial captive predators breeding industry in September 2023 and the province with the highest number of the predator. (Source: Ministerial Task Team final report)
How many captive predators are exported from South Africa?
To answer this question, we looked at data from the CITES Trade Database for the period of 2013 to 2023. The data includes only captive or captive-bred predators exported from South Africa dead or alive. The CITES database also provides information on the importing country and the purpose of the export, amongst other information.
Over the 10-years period, South Africa exported 3,536 live and 269 dead predators, mostly as trophies from captive or ”canned” hunts, other than lions. The majority of live exports were caracals and servals, with tiger trophies and skins topping exports of body parts and derivatives.
Number of captive-bred tigers, leopards, cheetahs, caracals, and servals exported from South Africa dead or alive for the period of 2013 to 2023. (Source: CITES Trade Database)
What countries import South African captive-bred predators?
When we looked at the countries that import South Africa’s captive-bred predators, a handful are repeatedly found in the Top 5 importing countries across the five species, namely China, the USA, India, Indonesia, and Thailand.
For tigers, the Top 5 importing countries are China, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Pakistan. Many of these Southeast Asian countries not only have a track record of poor animal welfare, but are also among the top consumer countries of lion and tiger products for traditional medicinal purposes, like tiger and lion bone wine.
Top 5 importing countries of captive-bred tigers, leopards, cheetahs, caracals, and servals from South Africa, dead or alive, for the period of 2013 to 2023. (Source: CITES Trade Database)
It’s legal, but what about animal welfare?
Recently, we looked at animal sentience and its link to animal welfare and well-being. We interrogated how animal welfare is compromised for lions throughout their captive lifecycle, from birth to death. All of this not only applies to lions in captivity but to all other captive predators, especially tigers, who have a very similar captive lifecycle to lions in South Africa.
In addition, the live export of predators raises even further animal well-being concerns. Considerations include the physical and mental implications of being crated for extended periods during transport, the time spent in quarantine, and the conditions of the quarantine facilities. How many animals die during the transportation process is something that CITES does not monitor.
Despite CITES’ mandate to regulate the legal trade of wildlife, they do not monitor what actually happens to these predators once they arrive at their destination. What is the real destiny of a tiger that is listed on the CITES database as exported for zoological purposes to Vietnam? Will it end up in a zoo and under what conditions or is it killed in a backstreet abattoir for its bones, teeth, claws, skin and meat?
Stay tuned as we delve into some of these animal welfare and well-being issues for the often overlooked captive-bred predators in South Africa over the next few weeks.
