South Africa: Lions Are Nonetheless Being Farmed in South Africa for Hunters and Tourism - They Should not Be

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A person was arrested on the OR Tambo Worldwide Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 23 June 2023 with 5 lion carcasses in his baggage. He was about to board a flight to Vietnam, the place the usage of lion bones in conventional medicines is practised.

The seizure is commendable however highlights South Africa’s controversial authorized trade of breeding lions in captivity. Wildlife researchers Neil D’Cruze and Jennah Inexperienced, who’ve studied lion farming in South Africa, share their insights into the trade and clarify why it must be shut down.

Why are lions being farmed?

Lions have been intensively farmed for business functions in South Africa because the Nineteen Nineties.

These wild animals are exploited as leisure points of interest for vacationers, like cub petting and “stroll with lions” experiences. Others are used for “canned” trophy looking, the place the lion is hunted in an enclosed house, with no probability of escape.

They’re additionally used for conventional drugs each in South Africa and internationally, the place their physique elements, significantly their bones, are exported to Asia. They’re used as elements in conventional Asian drugs, reminiscent of “wines” and tonics. These would normally comprise tiger bone, however lion bones are getting used in its place.

They’re additionally offered stay.

What does the lion farming trade appear like?

In accordance with official information in 2019, round 8,000 lions are being held in over 350 amenities in South Africa. In distinction, the present wild inhabitants within the nation is estimated to be about 3,500 lions.

Some farms additionally breed different massive cats, together with tigers, cheetahs, leopards, jaguars and hybrids.

The precise variety of lions and different species on business “lion farms” throughout South Africa, nevertheless, is unknown. The trade has by no means been totally audited and never all farms are formally registered. As well as, corruption and an absence of correct record-keeping make it troublesome for authorities to handle the trade and guarantee amenities adjust to the legislation.

How is the trade regulated?

A significant drawback is how the lion farming trade is being regulated in South Africa.

At a nationwide stage, governance of this trade has fallen beneath a patchwork of laws together with the Nationwide Environmental Administration: Biodiversity Act and rules round threatened or protected species. With nationwide and provincial concurrence, the regulation of the trade falls to the provincial nature conservation authorities.

However, as there isn’t a centralised nationwide system, transparency and enforcement is troublesome. This leads to gray areas that cloud the legality of the trade and its related actions, contributing to confusion and noncompliance all through.

Likewise, at a world stage, lion bone exports are regulated beneath the Conference on Worldwide Commerce in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However the trade has been beneath scrutiny since 2019, when a excessive courtroom in South Africa declared the lion bone export quota unconstitutional – due largely to animal welfare issues.

Consequently, since that point, the CITES export quota has been deferred, leading to a “zero quota”. Because of this lion skeletons can’t be legally exported for business functions. And any subsequent exports originating from lion farms are unlawful.

Why is that this trade an issue?

Lion farming in South Africa is controversial.

The trade has been estimated by some to contribute as much as R500 million (US$42 million) yearly to the South African financial system. Nonetheless, in 2021 a excessive stage report compiled by related specialists (together with conventional leaders, lion farmers and scientists) highlighted that the trade posed a threat to public well being (due to the potential transmission of zoonotic illness and lion assaults), “doesn’t contribute meaningfully to the conservation of untamed lions”, and was tarnishing the nation’s fame with “political and financial dangers”.

This led to the Division of Forestry, Fisheries and the Atmosphere asserting its intention, which cupboard later adopted, to right away halt the “domestication and exploitation of lions, and to in the end shut all captive lion amenities in South Africa”.

However nothing has modified. The captive breeding and canned looking of lions has continued.

What must be completed in regards to the trade?

The minister’s public announcement of South Africa’s intention to cease lion farming was a defining improvement concerning this controversial trade and its future. Nonetheless, in late 2022, a ministerial job crew was requested to “develop and implement a voluntary exit technique for captive lion amenities”. This was the primary time the phrase “voluntary” had been utilized in public authorities communications on this subject. It raised severe questions on whether or not the federal government was wavering in its acknowledged intention to finish business captive lion breeding.