This is an excerpt from an article published online by The South African on 16 June, 2021
Youth For Lions are marking Youth Day by showing their support for the recent announcement by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on their decision to end the captive lion breeding industry in South Africa.
Youth Day in South Africa is a day to pay tribute to the youth and recognise the power they have to initiate change. Youth For Lions is a sub-campaign of Blood Lions aimed at engaging the world’s youth around how cub petting, walking with predators and volunteering at predator farms is enabling and contributing to the wider captive predator breeding industry in South Africa.
Youth For Lions are celebrating the recent announcement made by Minister Barbara Creecy of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on their decision to end the captive lion breeding industry in South Africa on Youth Day.
The youth have shared messages of praise and support for the government, and are encouraging other young people around the world to do the same.
MEASURES PUT PLACE TO HALT CAPTIVE LION INDUSTRY IN SA
In the newly released report, the High-Level Panel (HLP) recommended that South Africa should no longer breed captive lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially.
Minister Creecy and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) have taken the courageous decision to put processes in place to halt:
- The sale of captive lion derivatives, including the appropriate disposal of existing lion bone stockpiles and lion bone from euthanised lions.
- The hunting of captive-bred lions.
- Tourist interactions with captive lions, including, so-called voluntourism, cub petting, etc.
YOUTH FOR LIONS PRAISE FOR MILESTONE
Produced by Youth For Lions, a short video was created by the South African youth to showcase what they thought about this milestone in the campaign: