Month: February 2017

Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon to pilot #GOGREEN anti-littering & waste management campaign

The 2017 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon (OMTOM) has officially launched their #GOGREEN campaign – an anti-littering movement, coupled with a waste management plan that offers a sustainable way to collect and process the non-organic waste generated during race week.

#GOGREEN was developed by Wildlands and is supported by Old Mutual, and aims to provide a practical solution for collecting waste from athletes and spectators at endurance events, while educating them about not littering, as well as recycling and upcycling.

Karen Thomas, Old Mutual Head of Brand, says, “One of the most exciting aspects of Old Mutual’s sponsorship of events like the Two Oceans Marathon is that it allows us to be innovative and to connect with people in a direct and engaging way. This year, mindful of our responsibility to make the world a better place, we are proud to launch the #GOGREEN campaign, which aligns strongly with our responsible business philosophy.”

Old Mutual is encouraging all runners to throw their waste in the specially made #GOGREEN troughs at GREEN ZONES along the route, or to hold onto it until the end of the race.

“We want the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon route to be as clean at race end as it is at race start,” explains Ms Thomas. “If every runner does their bit, we can do great things and make a meaningful difference. Protecting the environment is a wonderful way to run for more than yourself, so let’s go green and ensure that the world’s most beautiful marathon remains just that.”

A practical waste management solution

The OMTOM is no stranger to controversy when it comes to race week waste. While the event has had a comprehensive clean-up and recycling plan in place for the past number of years – even earning them the honour of being an official Western Cape Government 110% Green Flagship Event – environmental groups and individuals campaigning for various conservation causes have expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that water sachets, together with race nutrition packets and their torn-off corners, were still being found in various spots along the route.

“We have supported many anti-littering campaigns over the years, and our message has always been clear that athletes are to work with us to reduce or even eliminate littering. And while many runners have become more aware of the issue and make a concerted effort to throw their rubbish in the bins provided, the reality is that a large percentage of athletes continue to litter while on the run,” explains Carol Vosloo, General Manager of the Two Oceans Marathon NPC.

The #GOGREEN campaign will address this challenge by establishing a series of THROW ZONES along the route.

“OMTOM, in collaboration with Wildlands, will activate a number of THROW ZONES along the route – large branded troughs that will act as official throw zones for non-organic waste,” adds Ms Vosloo. “In addition, we are busy aligning our event rules with #GOGREEN by finalising the process that will be followed by ourselves as race organisers when runners are caught littering outside of these THROW ZONES.”

From Waste to Green Desks

In addition to the #GOGREEN campaign and waste management plan, the Two Oceans Marathon will also collaborate with title sponsor Old Mutual, through Wildlands, on a new project of transforming event waste into Green Desks.

It is currently estimated that the waste collected at the OMTOM will contribute to the manufacturing of approximately 500 school desks. The desks have been made possible through a partnership between Wildlands and POLYCO (Polyolefin Recycling Company NPC). POLYCO is a not-for-profit industry body which was established by the polyolefin packaging converters in South Africa in 2011.

To achieve greater diversion of plastics from landfill and meet Governments Industry Waste Management Plan Requirements, POLYCO is involved in supporting the recycling industry by funding collection, recycling, and new end-use growth projects.

“Education is one of the Two Oceans Marathon NPC’s key support pillars, and we are thrilled that those who need it most will ultimately benefit from these desks and create a sustainable future for all.”

Dr Andrew Venter, Wildlands CEO, commented, “Wildlands is delighted to be able to launch the #GOGREEN campaign with the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon. It is through our solid partnership with Old Mutual that we were able to bring participants and athletes this innovative concept. We believe this further cements Old Mutual’s commitment to our vision for a ‘Sustainable future for all.”

The OMTOM is the first mass participation event where the #GOGREEN waste management system will feature. It is envisaged that it will be rolled out to other Old Mutual-sponsored events like the Comrades, Om-Die-Dam and Soweto Marathons.

The Blue Fund boosts SANCCOB’s ‘chick season’ donations

On Friday, 03 February 2017, delegates of The Blue Fund – a partnership between Grindrod Bank and Wildlands – joined the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) for the release 12 endangered African penguins at Stony Point in Betty’s Bay. The Blue Fund helped to raise significant funds for SANCCOB to help rescue and rehabilitate abandoned African penguin chicks during its annual penguin chick season.

Ever year from October to December, SANCCOB runs a penguin chick adoption programme to raise funds for the hundreds of abandoned African penguin chicks admitted to its centres in Table View (Western Cape) and Cape St. Francis (Eastern Cape). In 2016, The Blue Fund pledged to match all donations received through the adoption programme and thereby doubling the impact of the public’s support for SANCCOB. A total of 562 African penguin chicks were admitted to SANCCOB’s centres and the collective amount raised, inclusive of The Blue Fund’s contribution and donations received from local and international supporters, was over half a million Rand. Funds raised through the adoption programme are used towards fish, medical supplies and overall rehabilitation needs of the hundreds of penguin chicks rescued, hatched, hand-reared and rehabilitated by SANCCOB’s team of seabird specialists and volunteers each year.

As a non-profit organisation, whose primary objective is to reverse the decline of seabird populations, SANCCOB’s name has become synonymous with saving penguins. To date, SANCCOB has treated more than 95 000 seabirds and independent research confirms that SANCCOB’s oil spill response actions alone have increased the African penguin population by 19%.More than 4000 chicks have been rehabilitated and released back into the wild since the establishment of SANCCOB’s Chick Bolstering Project in 2006.

The Blue Fund’s contribution to SANCCOB’s conservation work stems from their commitment to conserve coastal marine ecosystems. Francois Louw, fundraising and marketing manager of SANCCOB, says, “Support from the public and organisations, like The Blue Fund, is crucial to SANCCOB’s work and enables us to put the resources in place that provide the best possible outcomes for the birds. We are very grateful to have partnered with The Blue Fund and thank the public for helping to make the programme such a huge success.”

“The opportunity to witness the successful outcome of the amazing work being done by SANCCOB is such a privilege,” said Mark Gerrard, Blue Fund manager for Wildlands. “It is unfortunate that intervention is required, however, in this case it is critical and SANCCOB does such a professional job,” he commented further.

“Grindrod Bank feels privileged to have played a role in such a heart-warming conservation project.  It has been fantastic to witness the concerted effort by the team at SANCCOB, who are truly dedicated to the preservation of the African penguin and other magnificent seabirds,” said Sarah Freestone, marketing manager for Grindrod Bank.

SANCCOB’s penguin adoption programme is an ongoing initiative that provides the organisation with necessary funding to continue its vital work and encourages the public to play their part in helping to save the endangered African penguin species. Adoptions can be activated online at https://sanccob.co.za/adopt/ at R600 (for an email pack) or R700 (for a postal pack).

Initiatives such as this partnership between SANCCOB and The Blue Fund holds a good recipe for raising the funds needed to sustain SANCCOB’s seabird rescue and rehabilitation services. Keep an eye out for SANCCOB’s forthcoming campaign to build a new seabird hospital at its Cape Town centre in Table View. Visit www.sanccob.co.za for more information.

 

Cornubia’s win-win rehabilitation solution

Riparian areas – the strip of land on either side of a river – are an important element of healthy rivers. They provide essential habitats for wildlife while also acting as buffers between upland areas and open water. Having the correct plants in place assists in filtering pollutants from the water and provides a barrier to erosion. The shade afforded by the vegetation helps to reduce water temperatures which, in turn, leads to better oxygen levels to support aquatic animals.

“Years of human settlement, including sugar cane farming, have left the banks of the Ohlanga River in Cornubia (Durban) degraded and filled with alien plants,” notes Bongani Gumede, Corporate Director of Tongaat Hulett Developments. “We recognise the importance of a healthy riparian zone and for this reason, we have teamed up with Wildlands to rehabilitate the stretches of land on either side of the river.”

“By removing the alien vegetation and replacing it with indigenous plants,” adds David Moldenhauer, Wildlands’ Strategic Manager – “we can restore the valuable habitat to its original state. Thorough research has been undertaken to ensure that the correct historic plants – those which used to be in this location before the sugar cane fields – are planted. This is the best way to ensure that the correct biosphere of both flora and fauna is created.”

The Wildlands project is not only aimed at environmental restoration, the initiative is also creating jobs and providing skills and training to the local community. There are several programs that they have been developed which aim to empower the community.

There is a team of individuals who have been employed to work on the rehabilitation of the riparian zone itself. These people clear the floodplain tract on either side of the banks of the river using the “chop and drop” method: the alien vegetation is chopped down and left on the ground in place. This saves on the cost of removal and, perhaps more importantly, the cut material left on the ground makes an excellent mulch for the newly planted indigenous species while also supressing weed growth. It specifically isn’t burnt as this would be a waste of perfectly good nutrients for the soil.

Considering the 9.2km length of the river, and the fact that the riparian zone can extend anywhere from 10m to 100m from the riverbank, this is certainly a considerable undertaking. The rehabilitation began on Arbour Day 2014 and thus far some 90 ha of initial clearing and 43 ha follow-up clearing of sometimes very dense bush have been effected.

To date, 31 jobs for the alien plant clearing have been created for people from the local community. A new team has just been trained to use chainsaws and both Wildlands and Tongaat Hulett aim to use this training and practical application as a basis to incubate a future working environment for those trained.

“It is essentially the same as teaching a man to fish,” explains Moldenhauer, “and he will never go hungry again. The hope is that these skilled workers can go forward and apply their trade as woodsmen and subcontract their services to residents and businesses in the area. This is the very definition of a business incubator.”

In addition, the local community is to be involved in growing the desired indigenous plants. Members are to be trained in the cultivation of the specific plants that will restore health and balance as well as increase the biodiversity of the floodplain. “We are not looking at the easy to grow landscaping plants, although in time we expect that the growers will also be able to provide nursery services to the greater Cornubia region, including residents and businesses.”

A clear benefit in the initial stages of this initiative is the ready market for the indigenous plants. Those working on the restoration team will hopefully use the stimulated productivity gain out of this initiative as a springboard to undertaking other productive activities.

“Tongaat Hulett is serious about harnessing the capacity of the local community and about creating a sustainable ecosystem as well as social environment,” concludes Gumede. “We are rolling out a programme of training and skills development that will be to the advantage of both the biosphere and the community. This is only the beginning of a far larger undertaking.”

 

SA lions to be used as ingredient in fake tiger wine

There is something extremely bizarre about drinking a lion. But maybe in this world of post-truth it’s a new normal. After all, the cruelty we do to creatures in factory farms comes to us with no conscience, wrapped in plastic and labelled farm fresh. Every time we buy an egg or a steak or chicken breast we conspire in a little lie that it’s okay, writes Don Pinnock.

It is much easier to be cruel than one might think. It depends on how we understand it and whether we choose to ignore it. Cruelty has to do with suffering, whether it be emotional or physical.

There’s no doubt the creatures we farm to eat suffer, but we probably never see battery farm animals so it becomes easy to ignore. In their lifetime, unless they’re vegetarian, people in the developed world will eat the meat of around 20 000 entire animals.

Ignoring suffering is avoiding shame. The commercial marketing of animal parts is to avoid the possibility of feeling shame that may follow seeing how creatures are raised and slaughtered.

We feel no regret for the life of a genetically altered broiler chicken, too big-breasted to walk and living on mesh wire in a space as large as an A4 sheet of paper. Anyway, knowing that would spoil the taste.

So we feel no responsibility towards what Franz Kafka called the “unknown family” of invisible others, which included animals (he used to talk to fish in tanks and beg their forgiveness). They are, after all, farmed for our table. But lions? A beautiful near-endangered creature on Africa’s shrinking wildlands? Well, we drink them.

In a move clearly supporting the canned lion hunting industry, their consumption as an ingredient in fake tiger wine drunk by largely Chinese patrons is about to be legalised by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs. This lifeline to an increasingly discredited hunting practice follows a US ban on the import of hunting trophies from the country and a decline of profits from canned hunting.

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) made the 800-skeleton decision without public consultation. The DEA also plans to appoint a research group to monitor the exports.

The move has come under fire from a wide array of local and international environmental organisations and follows an ongoing controversy about South Africa’s lion breeding industry that promotes cub petting, lion walks, canned lion hunting and the supply of lion body parts.

“The decision is misguided and shameful,” said Audrey Delsink, Africa’s director of the Humane Society International. “Breeding captive lions is not only cruel and contrary to the global shift against captive wildlife, but is a potential threat to wild lions.”

According to Pippa Hankinson, the producer of the film Blood Lions, the quota appears to lack the requisite scientific basis and was arrived at without consideration of proper welfare or conservation protocols. There was no formal document to support how the quota of 800 skeletons was arrived at or how it would be enforced:

“South Africa (is showing) complete disregard for the overwhelming response by key global conservation leaders calling for the termination of captive lion breeding. In addition, this shocking industry is already adversely affecting Brand South Africa.”

In 2015, the Professional Hunters’ Association of SA (Phasa) passed a motion dissociating itself from the captive-bred lion industry “until such a time that the industry can convince Phasa and the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) that the practice is beneficial to lion conservation”.

Last year the International Union for the Conservation of Nature adopted a motion to terminate the hunting of captive-bred lions and other predators and captive breeding for commercial, non-conservation purpose.

There are between 6 000 and 8 000 captive-bred lions in South Africa, more than twice the number of wild lions. An estimated 1 200 lion skeletons a year are presently being exported; while the DEA-endorsed 800 skeletons export would mean a reduction, it also represents tacit support for captive lion breeding.

A Cites report notes that trade is fine “if the relevant authorities are satisfied that certain conditions are met, above all that trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild”.

In dealing merely with the impact of captive-bred lions on wild breeding stock, these reports ignore ethical issues and relegate lions to domestic farming stock.

There are also questions about whether the quota could be policed. According to Michelle Pickover of the EMS Foundation, there should be a moratorium on issuing any wildlife export permits because of the country’s extremely poor legislative and enforcement issues:

“At the meeting it was clear that DEA does not know how the industry operates, who the breeders, bone traders etc are, how many lions are in the industry and how many “facilities” there are.

“They leave this totally up to the industry itself. So it’s in essence secret and self-policed. There is also no transparency and this situation is worsened by massive corruption,” she says.

“They are wanting to do research as part of the quota decision. This is nonsensical – research needs to be done to establish the landscape and to ascertain if a quota is actually viable or not.

“Their position is clearly that because there is already a trade, it should continue. This is illogical. If they themselves are motivating for the need for research, then this suggests they do not have enough information.”

Pickover pointed out that because the US no longer allows the importation of captive trophies, there has been a shift to bone trade. “They are reporting a decrease of 320 lion hunts and a loss of 660 jobs and are supporting an off-take of 1 600 animals a year.

“DEA’s support for the lion bone trade is obvious. They do not seem to be concerned that they will grow demand. In fact, they said that demand was based on thousands of years of (Asian) culture and there was nothing we could do about it. This is astonishing, particularly given all the international and inter-governmental efforts to reduce demand.

“This does lead one to question whose agenda it is in our government to grow and support this unscrupulous and corrupt industry. And who is benefiting?”

The bones come from lions often raised in extreme cruelty. On breeding farms, females are forced to produce a litter every six months and the cubs are taken away within days after their birth to force early oestrus. They become drained and weak after a few years and can end up being “special offers” for hunters and bones for export.

According to Ian Michler, who produced the film Blood Lions: “Farmed lions are genetically contaminated, sometimes to the extent that they suffer from rickets, back and eyesight problems, all sorts of issues that come from inbreeding and cross-breeding.”

The health of the cubs, raised without mother’s milk, can suffer deficiencies, debilitating bone deformations, respiratory and thyroid problems, digestive disorders, calcium deficiencies and many other illnesses.

Down on the farm, it seems, cruelty to lions has become less important than sipping excretions leached from their bones.

Lion cub petting: to ban or regulate?

The formulation of a Captive Carnivores Working Group has seen a handful of interested parties collaborate in order to plot the way forward for the controversial lion cub petting industry.

The people involved come from a diverse background of experienced conservationists; people like Petri Viljoen of African Lion Working Group of the IUCN and John Werth, CEO of PAAZA and WAZA exec committee member (Pan African Zoo Association and World Association of Zoos), CACH – The Campaign Against Canned Hunting group as well as representatives from Lion and Safaris Park.

CACH – The Campaign Against Canned Hunting, who are vehemently against any kind of commercial commoditisation of lions, particularly canned hunting and cub petting, have come on board to initiate discussions around formulating an animal welfare management plan for carnivore cubs and cub encounters which government could adopt. As there is currently no regulation in South Africa to regulate lion encounters (other than a provincial ordinance in Kwa-Zulu Natal).

The groups came together at the behest of Lion and Safari Park, who reversed a recent decision to cease all cub petting when they began to lose revenue to competitive parks where cub petting is offered (Rhino and Lion Park and Chameleon Park). During this decision-making process Lion & Safari Park approached key NGO’s and organisations to explain their decision, and invited them to discuss the subject, and assist in finding solutions to the problem.

CACH was the only NGO to take up this offer and, despite the very different histories and stand-points between the two groups, a constructive and open meeting with Lion and Safari Park took place and the two groups plan to work together in an effort to come up with proposals to government that will eventually see the elimination of cub petting, as well as it’s subsequent problems within the industry.

The first meeting was held on 21st January 2017 – and a statement of intent emanating from that meeting has already been circulated.

Apprehensions about the controversial diversity in the group are summed up perfectly by a comment made during a group meeting: “To find a solution we do not need to attack, we need to engage!”

ExploreGreen Captive Carnivores Working Group established to phase out cub petting in SA

Cape Town – Responding to recent talks that lion and other wild cub petting should be regulated in South Africa, the team behind the global award-winning documentary Blood Lions have spoken out, reiterating that there is “no place for tourism activities promoting the exploitation of animals”.

“The links between the breeding farms, the petting and walking facilities, canned hunting and the lion bone trade are clear,” they say. “To be suggesting that any of these activities should be regulated rather than stopped is short-sighted and irrational. It gives the green light to exploitation and would be a reversal of the gains achieved over the last decade.”

Cormac Cullinan, an environmental lawyer agrees, saying that “by protecting the commercial interests of those exploiting lions instead of protecting lions, we are feeding the flames that threaten all wildlife”.

The backlash comes as a group of concerned members from diverse areas of operations and interests initially established a Captive Lion Working Group, with an initial specific focus on lion breeding and cub petting.

The group, consisting of a mix of representatives, namely Onderstepoort, SA Vet Council, PAAZA, African Lion Working Group (IUCN SSC), Lion & Safari Park, SA Predators Association (SAPA), Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH), as well as independent specialists and consultants, met at the Lion & Safari Park on 21 January 2017 to discuss the subject of captive lions, and cub petting in particular.

The Department of Environmental Affairs and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries were also invited to participate in the discussions, and representatives from both departments attended the meeting.

“Under the facilitation of CBSG (IUCN Breeding Specialist Group),” the Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH) says, “constructive debate and input from this group of professional and experienced participants resulted in consensus that, despite differences in opinion and priorities, the working group would continue to operate and would pursue the drafting of an industry management plan for cub petting that can be circulated to the industry and key stakeholders for input.”

The group broaden its spectrum as is now operating as the Captive Carnivores Working Group.

CACH believes that an agreement on regulations for carnivores in captivity, thus far totally unregulated, together with a universal welfare plan, would be a step in the right direction to ultimately place an entire ban on the industry.

The video footage below explains the link between cub petting and wild animal interactions, and how it affects the animals’ overall well-being.

Blood Lions and CACH’s sentiments are in line with those of SA’s newly appointed Tourism CEO, Sisa Ntshona.

In an earlier statement, Ntshona said that “South African Tourism does not promote or endorse any interaction with wild animals such as the petting of wild cats, interacting with elephants and walking with lions, cheetahs and so on.

He also said that conservation authorities’ concerns about cub petting and other wildlife interaction practices are taken extremely seriously and that SA Tourism is in discussion with the “Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme to see how we can work more closely with them to eradicate such practices”.

“Our marketing efforts promote an authentic and credible tourism experience to all our tourists, and this includes an authentic wildlife experience to keep it as “wild” and natural as possible,” Ntshona says.

Permission to drink a lion

There is something extremely bizarre about drinking a lion. But maybe in this world of post-truth it’s a new normal. After all, the cruelty we do to creatures in factory farms comes to us with no conscience, wrapped in plastic and labelled farm fresh. Every time we buy an egg or a steak or chicken breast we conspire in a little lie that it’s okay, says DON PINNOCK.

It is much easier to be cruel than one might think. It depends on how we understand it and whether we choose to ignore it. Cruelty has to do with suffering, whether it be emotional or physical. There’s no doubt the creatures we farm to eat suffer, but we probably never see battery farm animals so it becomes easy to ignore. In their lifetime, unless they’re vegetarian, people in the developed world will eat the meat of around 20,000 entire animals.

Ignoring suffering is avoiding shame. The commercial marketing of animal parts (lets call it by its true name) is to avoid the possibility of feeling shame that may follow seeing how creatures are raised and slaughtered. We feel no regret for the life of a genetically altered broiler chicken, too big-breasted to walk and living on mesh wire in a space as large as an A4 sheet of paper. Anyway, knowing that would spoil the taste.

So we feel no responsibility towards what Franz Kafka called the “unknown family” of invisible others, which included animals (he used to talk to fish in tanks and beg their forgiveness). They are, after all, farmed for our table. But lions? A beautiful near-endangered creature on Africa’s shrinking wildlands? Well, we drink them.

In a move clearly supporting the canned lion hunting industry, their consumption as an ingredient in fake tiger wine drunk by largely Chinese patrons is about to be legalised by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs. This lifeline to an increasingly discredited hunting practice follows a US ban on the import of hunting trophies from the country and a decline of profits from canned hunting.

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) made the 800-skeleton decision without public consultation but was forced to hold a stakeholder meeting as a result of Cites quota conditions. This was clearly planned as a once-off meeting, but delegates managed to get the department to open a two-week window for public comment, ending on Thursday (February 2). This leaves virtually no time for popular comment or intervention, so the proposal will probably go ahead. The DEA also plans to appoint a research group to monitor the exports.

The move has come under fire from a wide array of local and international environmental organisations and follows an ongoing controversy about South Africa’s lion breeding industry that promotes cub petting, lion walks, canned lion hunting and the supply of lion body parts.

“The decision is misguided and shameful,” said Audrey Delsink, Africa’s director of the Humane Society International. “Breeding captive lions is not only cruel and contrary to the global shift against captive wildlife, but is a potential threat to wild lions.”

According to Pippa Hankinson, the producer of the film Blood Lions, the quota appears to lack the requisite scientific basis and was arrived at without consideration of proper welfare or conservation protocols. There was no formal document to support how the quota of 800 skeletons was arrived at or how it would be enforced:

“South Africa (is showing) complete disregard for the overwhelming response by key global conservation leaders calling for the termination of captive lion breeding. In addition, this shocking industry is already adversely affecting Brand South Africa.”

In 2015 the Professional Hunters’ Association of South African (Phasa) passed a motion dissociating itself from the captive-bred lion industry “until such a time that the industry can convince Phasa and the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) that the practice is beneficial to lion conservation”.

Last year the IUCN adopted a motion to terminate the hunting of captive-bred lions and other predators and captive breeding for commercial, non-conservation purpose.

There are between 6,000 and 8,000 captive-bred lions in South Africa, more than twice the number of wild lions. An estimated 1,200 lion skeletons a year are presently being exported; while DEA-endorsed 800 skeletons export would mean a reduction, it also represents tacit support for captive lion breeding.

Captive-bred lions are something of a legislative black hole. The government’s 2015 Biodiversity Management Plan mentions captive-bred only in passing, saying “there is intense controversy over the merits and ethics of the captive breeding and subsequent release for hunting of captive bred lions, although it remains legal to do so”. A Cites report notes that trade is fine “if the relevant authorities are satisfied that certain conditions are met, above all that trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild”.

In dealing merely with the impact of captive-bred lions on wild breeding stock, these reports ignore ethical issues and relegate lions to domestic farming stock.

There are also questions about whether the quota could be policed. According to Michelle Pickover of the EMS Foundation, there should be a moratorium on issuing any wildlife export permits because of the country’s extremely poor legislative and enforcement issues:

“At the meeting it was clear that DEA does not know how the industry operates, who the breeders, bone traders etc are, how many lions are in the industry and how many ‘facilities’ there are.

“They leave this totally up to the industry itself. So it’s in essence secret and self-policed. There is also no transparency and this situation is worsened by massive corruption,” she says.

“They are wanting to do research as part of the quota decision. This is nonsensical – research needs to be done in order to establish the landscape and to ascertain if a quota is actually viable or not.

“Their position is clearly that because there is already a trade it should continue. This is illogical. If they themselves are motivating for the need for research, then this suggests they do not have enough information.”

Pickover pointed out that because the US no longer allows the importation of captive trophies, there has been a shift to bone trade. “They are reporting a decrease of 320 lion hunts and a loss of 660 jobs and are supporting an off-take of 1,600 animals a year.

“DEA’s support for the lion bone trade is obvious. They do not seem to be concerned that they will grow demand. In fact they said that demand was based on thousands of years of (Asian) culture and there was nothing we could do about it. This position is astonishing, particularly given all the international and inter-governmental efforts to reduce demand.

“This does lead one to question whose agenda it is in our government to grow and support this unscrupulous and corrupt industry. And who is benefiting?”

The bones come from lions often raised in extreme cruelty. On breeding the farms, females are forced to produce a litter every six months and the cubs are taken away within days after their birth to force early oestrus. They become drained and weak after a few years and can end up being “special offers” for hunters and bones for export.

According to Ian Michler, who produced the film Blood Lions: “Farmed lions are genetically contaminated, sometimes to the extent that they suffer from rickets, back and eyesight problems, all sorts of issues that come from inbreeding and cross-breeding.”

The health of the cubs, raised without mother’s milk, can suffer deficiencies, debilitating bone deformations, respiratory and thyroid problems, digestive disorders, calcium deficiencies and many other illnesses. The stress brought on by human petting and the poor living conditions can lead to behavioural disorders.

Down on the farm, it seems, cruelty to lions has become less important than sipping excretions leached from their bones. In pursuit of profits it has become a new normal.

Lion bones: SA public has no time to contest sale

South Africa is about to permit the export of lion bones to produce fake tiger wine but has given the public almost no time to object. The permit will allow an annual export of 800 skeletons to Asia.

The Department of Environmental Affairs made the decision without public consultation but was forced to hold a stakeholder meeting to comply with CITES quota conditions. This was clearly planned as a once-off meeting, but delegates managed to get the department to open a two-week window for public comment, ending on Thursday [February 2].

The meeting, publically announced on 25 January leaves virtually no time for popular comment or intervention, so the proposal will probably go ahead. The DEA also plans to appoint a research group to monitor the exports.

“The decision is misguided and shameful,” said Audrey Delsink, Africa’s director of the Humane Society International. “Breeding captive lions is not only cruel and contrary to the global shift against captive wildlife, but is a potential threat to wild lions.”

According to Pippa Hankinson, the producer of the film Blood Lions, the quota appears to lack the requisite scientific basis and was arrived at without consideration of proper welfare or conservation protocols. There was no formal document to support how the quota of 800 skeletons was arrived at or how it would be enforced.

“South Africa [is showing] complete disregard for the overwhelming response by key global conservation leaders calling for the termination of captive lion breeding. In addition, this shocking industry is already adversely affecting Brand South Africa.”

The move is tacit support for the canned lion industry presently hurting from a US ban on the importation of lion trophies from South Africa where captive-bred lions are something of a black hole.

The government’s 2015 Biodiversity Management Plan mentions captive-bred only in passing, saying:”there is intense controversy over the merits and ethics of the captive breeding and subsequent release for hunting of captive bred lions, although it remains legal to do so.” A CITES report notes that trade is fine, “if the relevant authorities are satisfied that certain conditions are met, above all that trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.”

In dealing merely with the impact of captive-bred lions on wild breeding stock, these reports ignore ethical and welfare issues and relegate lions to merely domestic farming stock. The permitting of the export of 800 lion carcases simply underlines this perspective.

Mission to end canned lion hunting

Durban – An NGO, Youth for Lions, is on a mission to save the felines from canned hunting.

It is creating awareness among youngsters globally that cub petting and lion walking supports this industry, in which lions are bred to be shot.

Amy Webster is visiting schools, offering screenings of the award-winning film, Blood Lions, a local production that exposes the cub- petting, predator-breeding and canned-hunting industries in South Africa.

Michaelhouse pupil Emanuel Zaloumis called it “an eye-opening experience. Something I was totally unaware of”. “To quote the movie, the Department of Environmental Affairs still view it as a sustainable practice,” Webster said.

Canned hunting – or officially “the hunting of captive bred lions” – remains legal in South Africa.

Recently, at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress, a motion was adopted to terminate captive-bred hunting of lions and other predators, as well as breeding them in captivity for commercial, non-conservation purposes, said Blood Lions producer Pippa Hankinson.

“South Africa has shown little regard for this overwhelming response by the key global conservation leaders who voted 82% in favour of Motion 009.”

Captive-bred predators fell through the “legislative cracks” in South Africa, and there was little doubt that the legalisation of trade in domestic lion body parts would grow the demand for wild lion bones.

“It is also impossible for authorities to differentiate between captive and wild lion skeletons, and already we have been told that the poaching of wild lions has escalated dramatically,” Hankinson said.

At a meeting in Pretoria on January 18, the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Scientific Authority convened a stakeholder consultation where they proposed that this quota be set at 800 skeletons (with or without the skull) per year for the international trade in lion bones, and that no trade will be allowed in bone products, fragments, teeth, etc.

Skeletons

These skeletons can be sourced from captive animals that were hunted, put down or died naturally. This proposal is open to public comment until Thursday.

“I understand the decision to open a two-week window for public comment regarding the quota was due to pressure from many of the delegates attending the meeting last week. They felt the Department of Environment and Agriculture’s proposed quota of 800 skeletons was arrived at without the requisite scientific basis, or consideration of proper welfare and conservation protocols,” said Hankinson.

“The proposal has been widely challenged by growing numbers of local and international environmental and conservation organisations, and we join them in calling for an end to the captive lion breeding industry which promotes cub petting and lion walking, and supports canned hunting and the supply of lion body parts.”

Meanwhile, the campaign to promote awareness continued after schools closed for the December holidays.

Webster travelled from Cape Town to Durban, staying in backpackers’ lodges and showing Blood Lions to those staying there to explain to them why they should not be petting cubs or walking with lions.

“Many were foreigners. Their first question was ‘how can this be legal?’ They couldn’t believe it is still legal,” she said.

Funding to show the film to schools has come from the Marching Animal Welfare Trust, in Scotland. Other KwaZulu-Natal schools that have seen the presentation are Kearsney College, Hilton College, the Wykeham-Collegiate and Pietermaritzburg’s Russell High School, Epworth, St Anne’s, Highbury Primary School and Crawford College Umhlanga.

Interested schools can contact Webster on 0333436380, 0812504640, or email her at youth@localhost/blog-post-data

Youth for Lions’s campaign to schools was launched last year by the Blood Lions Campaign.

Export of lion skeletons will be permitted for fake tiger wine

In a move clearly supporting the canned lion hunting industry, the South African Government plans to permit the annual export of 800 lion skeletons to manufacturers of fake tiger wine. This lifeline to an increasingly discredited hunting practice follows a US ban on the import of hunting trophies from the country.

The move has come under fire from a wide array of local and international environmental organisations and follows an ongoing controversy about South Africa’s lion breeding industry that promotes cub petting, lion walks, canned lion hunting and the supply of lion body parts.

‘The decision is misguided and shameful,’ said Audrey Delsink, Africa’s director of the Humaine Society International. ‘Breeding captive lions is not only cruel and contrary to the global shift against captive wildlife, but is a potential threat to wild lions.’

According to Pippa Hankinson, the producer of the film Blood Lions, the quota appears to lack the requisite scientific basis and was arrived at without consideration of proper welfare or conservation protocols. There was no formal document to support how the quota of 800 skeletons was arrived at or how it would be enforced.

‘South Africa [is showing] complete disregard for the overwhelming response by key global conservation leaders calling for the termination of captive lion breeding. In addition, this shocking industry is already adversely affecting Brand South Africa.’

In 2015 the Professional Hunters’ Association of South African (PHASA) passed a motion dissociating itself from the captive-bred lion industry ‘until such a time that the industry can convince PHASA and the IUCN [International Union for the Conservation of Nature] that the practice is beneficial to lion conservation.’

Last year the IUCN adopted a motion to terminate the hunting of captive-bred lions and other predators and captive breeding for commercial, non-conservation purpose.

The Department of Environmental Affairs made the 800-skeletion decision without public consultation but was forced to hold a stakeholder meeting this week as a result of CITES quota conditions. This was clearly planned as a once-off meeting, but delegates managed to get the department to open a two-week window for public comment, ending on February 2. The DEA also agreed to appoint a research group to monitor the exports.

There are between 6 000 and 8 000 captive-bred lions in South Africa, more than twice the number of wild lions. An estimated 1 200 lion skeletons a year are presently being exported, so 800 would mean a reduction, but represents tacit support for captive lion breeding.

Captive-bred lions are something of a legislative black hole. The government’s 2015 Biodiversity Management Plan mentions captive-bred only in passing, saying ‘there is intense controversy over the merits and ethics of the captive breeding and subsequent release for hunting of captive bred lions, although it remains legal to do so.’ A CITES report notes that trade is fine ‘if the relevant authorities are satisfied that certain conditions are met, above all that trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.’

In dealing merely with the impact of captive-bred lions on wild breeding stock, these reports ignore ethical issues and relegate lions to domestic farming stock.
There are also questions about whether the quota could be policed. According to Michelle Pickover of the EMS Foundation, there should be a moratorium on issuing any wildlife export permits because of the country’s extremely poor legislative and enforcement issues.

‘At the meeting it was clear that DEA does not know how the industry operates, who the breeders, bone traders etc. are, how many lions are in the industry and how many “facilities” there are.
‘They leave this totally up to the industry itself. So it’s in essence secret and self-policed. There is also no transparency and this situation is worsened by massive corruption.

‘They are wanting to do research as part of the quota decision. This is nonsensical – research needs to be done in order to establish the landscape and to ascertain if a quota is actually viable or not.
‘Their position is clearly that because there is already a trade it should continue. This is illogical. If they themselves are motivating for the need for research, then this suggests they do not have enough information.’
According to Kelly Marnewick of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, because the US no longer allows the importation of captive trophies, there has been a shift to bone trade. ‘They are reporting a decrease of 320 lion hunts and a loss of 660 jobs and are supporting an offtake of 1600 animals a year.

‘DEA’s support for the lion bone trade is obvious. They do not seem to be concerned that they will grow demand. In fact they said that demand was based on thousands of years of [Asian] culture and there was nothing we could do about it. This position is astonishing, particularly given all the international and inter-governmental efforts to reduce demand.

‘This does lead one to question whose agenda it is in our government to grow and support this unscrupulous and corrupt industry. And who is benefitting?’