In South Africa, of the 219+ facilities that keep wildlife in captivity for tourism purposes assessed by WildChoices, 20% (+/- 45 facilities) are located in the Free State province – ALL of which keep big cats.
Of these facilities in the Western Cape:
- 37 you should AVOID;
- 4 you should Support with CAUTION;
- 4 you can SUPPORT (according to the SATSA guidelines).
The Free State sits second place, after the Western Cape, in terms of highest number of captive wildlife tourism facilities, but tops the chart with the highest number of facilities to AVOID.
If you’re considering visiting a captive wildlife facility anywhere in South Africa, be sure to do your homework and look them up on www.wildchoices.org.