Lion Bones export Approved/Blood Lions

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Re: Lion Bones export Approved

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Big cats worldwide threatened by SA lion bone trade

Asian demand for tiger wine and other products is creating a crisis for big cats across the world, according to a study just released by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).

Titled The Lion’s Share, it focuses particularly on how South Africa’s proposed legalised export of 800 lion skeletons a year is stimulating demand for tiger parts and derivatives – and endangering wild tigers.

Populations are decreasing across their range and there are only about 4 000 tigers left in the wild. The largest group is in India, where it is coming under increasing threat from poaching. The big cats are now functionally extinct in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos and there are an estimated seven wild tigers left in China.

ImageCaptive-bred lions in South Africa (c) Pippa Hankinson & bloodlions.org

The demand for tiger parts is having an impact on other big cats, says the report. Wild leopards, snow leopards and clouded leopards are being poached in Asia as well as jaguars in South America.

South Africa allows both lion and tiger farming for commercial trade in animal parts. There are presently between 6 000 and 8 000 lions in captive facilities as well as 280 tigers in 44 facilities. Between 2005 and 2015 more than 4 000 lion skeletons were exported from the country, most probably being passed off as tiger products to Asian customers.

According to the report, the proliferation of lion and tiger farms in South Africa and the associated trade undermines enforcement efforts to end illegal tiger trade and stimulates demand for tiger parts and derivatives. “Given consumer preference for wild-sources tiger parts, this also sustains poaching pressure on wild tigers.”

With the legalisation of lion skeleton exports, it adds, there is also a serious risk of tiger bone, teeth and claws from South Africa being laundered and exported as lion specimens using CITES export permits. Since tigers are not indigenous to South Africa, there is either a lack of or weak regulations regarding their trade.

The South African quota for lion bone export followed a 2016 CITES decision to permit the country to sell lion parts. According to the EIA, the Environmental Minister’s rational that the sale would protect wild lions was misconceived.

“It fails to take into consideration … that its decision will stimulate demand for big cat bone products. It also ignores the failed experiment in China where the parallel legal trade in skins from captive tigers has not put an end to wild tiger poaching.”

The EIA urges the country to zero quota all commercial exports of lion parts and products sourced from captive or wild lions. It also urges CITES to add an annotation to its Appendix 1 listing to include all animal parts from both wild and captive lions.

“It is clear that a legal trade in captive lion parts is unworkable,” says the report, “and will likely have a detrimental impact, not only on wild lions but also on endangered wild tigers. The government of South Africa must adopt urgent action to end this trade.”

See original article: http://www.traveller24.com/Explore/Gree ... e-20170718


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Re: Lion Bones export Approved

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More than 6000 lion skeletons have been exported from SA



A new report highlights the legal trade of lion bone from South Africa to East-Southeast Asia since 2008.

Published in October on PLOS ONE, the report - titled A roaring trade? The legal trade in Panthera leo bones from Africa to East-Southeast Asia - analysed the legal export of lion skeletons from South Africa since 2008, when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) issued its first permits.

In the period from 2008 to 2016, over 6 000 skeletons weighing 70 tonnes have been exported to Asia, specifically Laos, which took 51% of all exports between 2008 and 2015. 2014 accounted for 64% of all exports in the period.

South Africa was legally the only exporter of bones until 2013 when CITES issued permits to Namibia for export skeletons to Vietnam, according to the report. The country makes up a total of 0.7% of total exports.

"Since few wild lions are hunted and poached within South African protected areas, skeletons for the legal trade appear to be derived from captive bred lions," says the report.

"However, confirmation of a 116kg shipment from Uganda to Laos, and reports of lion poaching in neighbouring countries, indicate that urgent proactive monitoring and evaluation of the legal and illegal trade is necessary in African lion range states where vulnerable wild lion populations are likely to be adversely affected."

Other African countries have also issued CITES export permits, but all their lion bone are from wild-origin.

Image

Ian Michler, environmental journalist that stars in the Blood Lions documentary, believes this report is another red flag for the species.

"Conservationists and predator researchers have been warning the South African government for some time now about the folly of promoting a trade in lion bones. And this latest research report is another clear warning about the potential threat to wild lion populations across the continent," Michler told Traveller24.

"Why continue putting the species at risk for the profits made by a handful of lion breeders and traders? Blood Lions calls on the DEA and CITES to review the lion bone quota awarded to South Africa."

Lion bone serve as a substitute for tiger bone, a species on the brink of extinction due to poaching for their parts. The bones are mostly used in medicines, similar to rhino horn. It is argued that the legal trade of lion bone helps to thwart the black market trade by satisfying demand.

The report states that Asian importers are happy to accept lion bone as a substitute, which is cheaper than tiger products, and they would also pass it off as tiger bone. A lion skeleton can go for about $1500 (R21 336).

Image

"In African lion range states with no farmed lions, and/or those with smaller and/or less protected wild populations, vulnerability to poaching is informed by the drivers of trade and the magnitude thereof."

"While there is minimal evidence to suggest that the East-Southeast Asian bone trade is presently adversely affecting wild lions in protected areas in South Africa, the extent of this specific trade in other lion range states still requires urgent proactive monitoring and evaluation to substantiate and clarify these impacts and also those resulting from the trade in lion body parts for other purposes."

In July, the Department of Environmental Affairs announced that 800 lion skeletons will be exported to Asia this year to supplement the tiger parts industry, claiming that it would protect lion populations with legal satisfaction of demand.

A report called The Lion's Share however denounced these claims, citing that "it fails to take into consideration … that its decision will stimulate demand for big cat bone products. It also ignores the failed experiment in China where the parallel legal trade in skins from captive tigers has not put an end to wild tiger poaching."


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Re: Lion Bones export Approved

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What is wrong with these people?? O/ O/


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Re: Lion Bones export Approved

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Cash before Conservation? A damning report on the commoditisation of lions

2018-03-22 06:30 - Dr Louise de Waal

Image
Image by: Colin Bell, Conservation Action Trust

A damning report titled "Cash before Conservation, an overview of the breeding of lions for hunting and bone trade" in South Africa, was released by the UK-based Born Free Foundation on Monday, 19 March 2018.

Will Travers OBE (President, Born Free Foundation) says "The inauguration of South Africa's new President, Cyril Ramaphosa heralds the opportunity for a fresh start. Along with all the many other challenges the nation must address, bringing an end, in an intelligent and humane way, to the scourge of lion breeding farms and the trade in captive-bred lions should be a priority."

South Africa holds a captive lion population of approximately 7 000 - 8 000 animals kept in around 260 breeding and captive facilities and is considered the world's top destination for trophy hunting of captive bred lions.

The export quota of 800 lion skeletons from the captive bred population makes SA also the world's largest legal exporter of lion bones for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Asia.

While our wild lions are in peril across Africa, the rapid expansion of the commercial lion breeding and associated captive lion hunting and lion bone industry in South Africa is a real cause for concern. At the same time, commoditisation of our wildlife resources has the full support of the DEA.

Links to Illegal Wildlife Trade

SA issued export permits for nearly 5 400 lion skeletons between 2008 - 2015 of which the vast majority were destined for Lao PDR and Vietnam. Both countries are renowned for their roles as key conduits for the international illegal wildlife trade.

The Tipping Point report stated that 153 export permits for lion skeletons were issued to Vinasakhone Trading in the Lao PDR, a company repeatedly at the centre of extensive illegal wildlife trade.

The very same company was authorised by the Lao PDR Government to traffic $16.9 million (about R250 million @R14.80/$) of animal products through Laos during 2014, according to The Guardian.

"It is known that the illegal trade in rhino horn is operated through organised international criminal syndicates", says the Born Free report.

Is it therefore a reasonable assumption to make that the increase in poaching of rhinos in South Africa since 2007 is linked to the growth in the legal trade of lion bones?

Is the DEA defending the indefensible?

According to the report, the DEA has for the past 20 years consistently facilitated the growth of South Africa's captive predator breeding industry. In response to questions submitted by independent researchers to the DEA in August 2017 (full transcript available in Appendix 1 of the Born Free report), the DEA confirmed that:

- It has not undertaken any scientific research demonstrating the conservation value of captive lion breeding. Neither on the impact of lion bone trade and / or hunting of captive lions on the wild lion populations in South Africa or elsewhere in Africa. No scientific data is available of the impact of the legal lion bone trade on the illegal wildlife trade. The Department only recently commissioned a three-year research project on these issues. Nevertheless, Minister Molewa has on several occasions insisted that the lion bone trade has no impact on wild lions. "It is alarming that the DEA has issued an export quota of 800 skeletons for 2017, and issued permits for thousands of skeletons and large quantities of bones since 2008, without having completed any of the research it has now commissioned. This also applies to the continued breeding of lions for hunting", says the Born Free report.

- It has no independent figures demonstrating the financial worth of the captive predator breeding sector to the national economy. At the same time, its contribution to socio-economic development is often used as a pro-consumptive wildlife utilisation motivation by the Department.

-It has no up-to-date figures on the number of jobs the captive lion breeding industry creates - the latest estimates (2009) a total of 379 full time jobs. Whereas, the Department uses job creation as an important driver in support of the sector.

- The lack of capacity, in terms of funding and skills, at provincial level has still not been resolved, which hinders the proper management of permits and compliance of the breeding and hunting of captive bred lions.

- A centralised database system has still not been put into place. Hence, the DEA has no independent figures on how many lions are held in captivity and fully relies on South African Predator Association (SAPA) statistics.

- There is no animal welfare legislation in place relevant to the captive predator breeding industry. Draft Norms and Standards for the Welfare of Captive Lions have been due by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) since September 2016.

The Born Free report concludes that "if South Africa is to be regarded as a responsible and ethical custodian of its wildlife, and a country that cares about wildlife elsewhere in Africa and across the globe, urgent action needs to be taken to curtail the captive breeding of lions and the sale of their bones and skeletons."


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Re: Lion Bones export Approved

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Isn't the DEA supposed to protect wildlife and conservation? What a joke! :evil:


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Re: South Africa exporting hundreds of Asian tigers to Asia

Post by RogerFraser »

Blood LionsLike Page
3 hrs
BREAKING NEWS: 19 lions shot last week.

Are over 80 lions about to be shot in the Free State province for the lion bone trade?

As the reality of South Africa’s lion bone quota takes effect, lions from all over the country are likely to be moved onto farms that act as collection points. And this may well be going down in the Free State right now on a farm not that far from Bloemfontein.

According to sources, 19 lions were shot this past week.

And although permits for just over 80 more lions were apparently granted for killing next week, this batch has been put on hold due to procedural disputes within the provincial offices. The permits were apparently granted under euthanasia clauses, but the lions were shot with a rifle.

From the outset, Blood Lions has opposed the issuing of a lion bone quota on a number of grounds, not least of which was that it was being done without any science to support the quota. We are also concerned that, contrary to claims from government and the breeders and canned hunting operators that the lion bone industry is a by-product of canned hunting, the quota may well become one of the primary drivers of the breeding. It is possible that canned hunting will become a by-product of the bone industry.

The brutal reality here is that South Africa is already farming lions under industrial conditions, and those involved are well on the way to domesticating the species.

ACTION: Free State Permit offices: bonakele.mayekiso@dha.gov.za and nel@detea.fs.gov.za and tauk@detea.fs.gov.za

Photo: Stock image, anonymous source, photo is not from the news above but can be the fate of thousands in South Africa.

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Re: Lion Bones export Approved

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Lion bone trade: New report reveals South African government’s role

Read the whole story and watch the photos here:

Read the full report: Born Free Foundation:Cash before Conservation, an overview of the breeding of lions for hunting and bone trade


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Re: Lion Bones export Approved

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:evil: The more I read these stories, the more upset I feel. What humans can do is a shame !


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Re: Lion Bones export Approved

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:no: :no: :no:


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Re: Lion Bones export Approved

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:evil: :evil:


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