End of lion breeding in captivity ?

[Lisbeth]

Government reveals roadmap to slam brakes on captive lion breeding


Lions in a captive breeding facility. (Photo: Blood Lions)

By Don Pinnock | 03 Apr 2024

The environment ministry this week tabled a roadmap to end the captive lion breeding industry, but it will take a few years for the wheels to stop turning.
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South Africa has the largest number of captive lions in the world — about 7,800 in 348 breeding facilities. This has to end, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said at a press briefing this week, taking the lead from a panel of experts she appointed to formulate steps for the industry’s closure.


Captive lions and lion facilities in SA. (Table: DFFE)

The first option will be to support breeders towards voluntarily exiting the industry. This includes the euthanasia of compromised lions, population control through sterilisation, removal to safe havens or permitting hunting for two years.

Options are being explored for the burning of all stockpiled lion bones to prevent black market trade. A report on the roadmap to ending captive lion breeding recommends that no new breeding facilities be permitted.


Scoring of all potential voluntary exit options. (Table: DFFE)

For those who opt for voluntary exit, the “carrot” is that they would be permitted to use the lions for a restricted period of preferably no longer than two years. This would include captive lion hunting, live trade and domestic trade in lion skeletons, parts and derivatives for the traditional health sector.

Hunting sterilised lions could be a way of monetising euthanasia and offset a flurry of court cases by breeders opposed to the proposals. In international terms, while open season on “cheap” lions would be welcomed by hunters, it’s certain to be deeply criticised by wildlife campaigners and conservation NGOs.

The panel of experts, who formulated the hefty 250-page report to end an industry that has increasingly embarrassed South Africa, was assisted by extensive public stakeholder engagement.

719760118-Presentation-Press-Briefing-MTT (Lion breeding).pdf

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Road to closure

The lion breeding industry has been allowed to grow since 1990 under a patchwork of national and provincial legislation that made control difficult. The road to its closure effectively began in 2018 when the parliamentary portfolio committee for environmental affairs held a colloquium on captive lion breeding for hunting. This was reinforced by a shocking film, Blood Lions, about canned hunting.

The colloquium’s recommendations, adopted by the National Assembly, urged the Department of Environmental Affairs to urgently review policies and legislation on the captive breeding of lions for hunting and the lion-bone trade with a view to shutting it down.

This was followed by a high-level panel (HLP) of experts, established in 2019. The HLP’s majority recommendations to effectively close the industry were accepted by the minister, which led to the establishment of the latest ministerial task team (MTT), comprising experts from diverse backgrounds, and a report on a voluntary exit from the industry.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Captive lion industry breeds crime syndicates, says new investigative report

The report noted the presence of other carnivores in captivity in SA such as tigers and jaguars and expressed concern that these may replace lions if their breeding was not restricted.


Captive predators other than lions. (Table: DFFE)

The report noted that since it began, the captive lion industry has presented multiple regulatory challenges — ethical, regulatory, conservation and economic. For these reasons, voluntary exit was just the first step in the goal of legally closing captive lion breeding. The implication is that, after the two-year phase-down period, harsher steps will follow for non-compliance.

Stockpiles of lion bones, marketed to Asian countries as a substitute in tiger-bone wine, were of particular concern for the MTT drafters. There has been no quota to legally export bones since 2019, yet during this timeframe lions have died and been hunted.

“It is thus expected that facility owners will retain various parts and derivatives in anticipation of legal trade in the future,” the report said. “The stockpile estimates are not accurate but there is still a considerable quantity of these products.

“Given the reports of the illegal exports of lion bones, parts and derivatives, the MTT recommends the rapid implementation of a government-sanctioned acquisition and mass incineration of all known lion bone stockpiles, to prevent its illegal export and signal its commitment to ending this practice.”

Private funds were being sought for the purchase of lion skeletons.

The report also recommended that permits involving captive-bred lions be restricted to 12 months, with the possibility of annual extensions, permitting a level of control over facilities. It recommended that no new facilities be licensed and no breeding be permitted.

Timelines needed

Dr Louise de Waal, director at Blood Lions, the NGO which produced the film of the same name that can rightfully claim to have started major opposition to lion breeding in South Africa, said the release of the MTT report and the publication of the Policy Position Paper were important steps towards the closure of the industry.

“However, both documents urgently need to be implemented with actual timelines for a staged approach to put an end to these unethical and cruel practices.

“With the upcoming elections, we are hugely concerned that a change in minister will impede these processes, so we need to continue to put pressure on the DFFE [Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment] to follow through on their promise to stop the domestication and exploitation of our iconic species.”

Dr Neil D’Cruze of World Animal Protection said the report made some great strides forward.

“In particular, the recommendation for the mass incineration of lion bone stockpiles is of great relief given concerns that a reintroduction of lion bone exports would risk stimulating demand among Asian consumers.

“However, the opportunity for lion farmers to legally provide canned hunts and trade lion bones domestically during the phase-out window underscores the need for urgent action.”

This is a summary of the report’s recommendations:

Voluntary exit options

The following voluntary exit options were identified by the MTT:

Mandatory prerequisites

A. Humane euthanasia of compromised lions; and

B. Population control, preferably by surgical sterilisation.

Most viable voluntary exit options involving live captive and/or captive-bred lions in order of priority

• 1.Euthanasia of all lions and permanent exit from the industry;

• 2.Phase-out through trade opportunities for 24 months; and

• 3.Surrender of lions to lion safe-havens.

Less viable voluntary exit options involving live captive and/or captive-bred lions

• 4.Surrender of lions to authorities;

• 5.Repurposing of an existing facility to a lion safe haven; and

• 6.Repurposing of an existing facility for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.

Viable voluntary exit options involving lion bone stockpiles

• 7.Lion bone stockpiles surrendered to authorities; and

• 8.Lion bone stockpiles for trade (domestic) for a period of 24 months.

DM

[Lisbeth]

South Africa is to shut down captive lion farms. Experts warn the plan needs a deadline

Published: April 8, 2024 - Neil D’Cruze, Global Head of Wildlife Research, World Animal Protection, and Visiting Researcher, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), University of Oxford
Angie Elwin, Wildlife Research Manager at World Animal Protection and Visiting Research Fellow, Manchester Metropolitan University
Jennah Green, Wildlife Research Manager at World Animal Protection, and Visiting Research Fellow, Manchester Metropolitan University

A male lion kept in captivity on a lion farm in South Africa. Around the world/Getty Images

The South African government has officially confirmed that captive lion farms will be shut down. A new ministerial task team report just released has cemented the government’s intention, first made public in 2021, to put an end to African lions being legally sold and traded live, both internationally and domestically.

It also heralds the end of “canned” trophy hunting, where lions are confined to an enclosed space and hunted down, with no chance of escape.

We are wildlife researchers who have studied lion farming in South Africa. We believe that this latest development is a significant milestone in ending this controversial industry and provides some clarity on the next steps.

However, we are concerned that the government has not yet provided any definitive deadlines for closing down the industry. The government is also suggesting that “canned” hunts will be allowed to continue during an undefined phasing out period. We outline why a deadline is urgently required.

Why lion farming is being shut down

The ministerial task team’s decision came after years of objections by conservationists and researchers about the substandard conditions and the unregulated nature of the commercial lion farming industry. Captive lions on farms often live in filthy, overcrowded enclosures and in conditions that fail to meet their basic hygiene, diet and veterinary needs.

The export of lion bones originating from lion farms has been illegal since 2019. This followed a high court ruling in which the export quota – the maximum number of lion skeletons that could be legally exported – was declared unconstitutional based on animal cruelty concerns.

Illegal and unethical activities associated with the industry were also a factor which led a team of traditional leaders, lion farmers and scientists to conclude in a high-level panel report released in 2020 that captive lion farming was tarnishing the country’s reputation. This report added that the trade threatened South Africa’s global standing as a leader in the conservation of wildlife and as a country and destination with iconic wild lions.

Since 2022, a task team formed by the minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment has been looking for ways to close captive lion facilities.

A promising decision for lions

We’re hopeful about the new ministerial report because it confirms that in the long run it will be compulsory for lion farms to close down.

The report is also helpful because it details different options. It gives specific advice on how to take care of healthy lions and stop them from breeding during the phasing out period. It also talks about how to humanely euthanise sick or injured lions and safely dispose of their bodies.


South Africa’s captive lion trade will be shut down. Roberto Vieto/World Animal Protection

The report also outlines how it intends to use private sector funds to buy up lion bone stockpiles before destroying them. This is likely to be good news for many conservationists and animal welfare advocates who were worried that exporting lion bones might increase demand in Asia for illegally obtained lion parts.

Another positive aspect of the report is that it acknowledges the risks of releasing captive bred lions into the wild, like the danger of them attacking people or livestock and spreading diseases to wild lion populations. Instead of releasing them, the report suggests creating “safe havens” where healthy lions can live out their lives without breeding or interacting with humans, except for veterinary care.

The government must act with urgency

The government has realised that simply hoping lion farmers will stop on their own won’t fix the problem. Now, they’re saying it’s crucial to make it compulsory to stop commercial captive lion breeding in South Africa. This is a big step forward.

However, it’s a concern that the government still hasn’t set a clear deadline for farmers to stop breeding lions commercially and participating in any lion related trade.

What’s especially worrying is that the government supports a “trade out exit” plan. This means that instead of being directly compensated for closing down their farms, the captive lion farmers will still be allowed to sell “canned” hunting and trade domestically in live lions, their skeletons, and other lion products while the industry is being phased out.

Without firm deadlines, it is not clear how long lions will continue to suffer in poor conditions. During the phase out period, legal trade could act as a cover for criminal activities, and these facilities will remain a threat to public health and safety. Urgent action is needed to rectify this.

In the coming years, we’ll see how challenging it is for a country to shut down a long standing, mostly unregulated industry like commercial captive lion breeding. This will be an important example for other countries considering starting or stopping similar industries with wild animals.