Category: 2017

#ShockWildlifeTruths: Pressure mounts to ban wild animal interactions in SA

Cape Town – The walls are closing in on animal interaction operators in South Africa as international tourism role-players distance themselves from unethical wildlife experiences.

International travellers are looking for ethical, responsible experiences and circuses and petting zoos where animals are kept solely for human entertainment are no longer generally accepted.

Responding to the changing sentiments of tourists, tourism authorities and operators have taken an active stand against animal interactions, scrapping them from their itineraries.

Following international movements, SA’s major tourism representatives are catching up with international trends in order to protect South Africa’s status as a responsible and ethical tourism destination – and it’s no easy feat.

No place for mere compliance 

One of the main topics at the annual Southern African Tourism Services Association (SATSA) conference, on 17 and 18 August, was a panel discussion titled ‘Animal interactions – how to craft a compliance process’.

But dealing with compliance only is not enough says Ian Michler, Consultant and Campaign Co-leader to Blood Lions. “This will allow many to continue with cruel and irresponsible practices under the veil of conservation or education,” Michler says.

He commends SATSA’s boldness, saying “it’s admirable that SATSA has decided to address an issue as intricate and multi-facetted as that of animal interactions, but they should go further and support the lobby to end all exploitative practices using wild animals.”

To this end, Humane Society International (HSI) Africa, along with Blood Lions and Wildlands have issued an open letter to SATSA and the Minister of Tourism Tokozile Xasa, urging them “to take a strong stance against animal interactions, such as the use of captive-bred predators in cub petting, lion walks and the voluntourism sector.”

The letter also states that by ending the breeding of wild animals to live – and be killed – in captivity, “there will be no need to deal with the compliance issues” surrounding the industry and marring SA’s natural heritage. These ‘compliance issues’ are essentially only symptoms of the main concern – the breeding of wild animals while claiming conservation credentials.

In the SATSA discussion, South African Tourism CEO Sisa Ntshona says his ultimate aim was to protect Brand South Africa. He reiterated that he would work with sustainable tourism authorities to eradicate the animal interaction industry in SA.

“As South African Tourism,” Ntshona claims, “we are fully cognisant of the global anti-petting lobby and back it unreservedly.” He stated in December 2016 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”.

What will it take to end animal interaction?

Without a total ban on all animal interactions, the practice will continue due to its financial rewards. An “ethical, legal approach” is the only answer as the panel moderator, Colin Bell pointed out.

Should SA Tourism and SATSA respond to the global call to stop interactions with wild animals , they will join ninety-eight leading tour operators and safari companies from across Africa and the world, who have signed  the “Born to Live Wild” pledge which works to end exploitative tourism practices and promote Africa as an authentic, wild and ethical tourism destination.

“Blood Lions and the coalition of responsible ethical operators will continue to lobby SA’s tourism bodies to live up to their marketing claims. Brand South Africa may well continue to be at risk should the international opprobrium over wild animals be ignored,” Michler warns.

#ShockWildlifeTruths: SA tourism industry urged to commit to help curb ‘exploitative wildlife practices’

Cape Town – South Africa is going to be celebrating Heritage month in September – with our wildlife being an integral part of SA’s natural heritage,  it stands to reason that our tourism practices should advocate ethical, wildlife protection.

This has seen Blood Lions and Humane Society International  asking the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) to join its international petition, with over 110 000 signatures and directed at the South African tourism industry,  with the aim of curbing exploitative wildlife practices.

Blood Lions together with Humane Society International presented the formal request and call to action at the SATSA conference taking place in Stellenbosch on Thursday 17 August, asking its members to” help end exploitative wildlife practices and calling then to join the global Born to Live Wild Pledge”.

‘Urge the tourism industry to end lion exploitation!’

Speaking on the animal interaction panel discussion at SATSA. Blood Lions documentary filmmaker and environmental journalist, Ian Michler says “it is clear that a lot of work needs to be done in order to define ecological education and highlight the difference between it and the use of wildlife for entertainment”, especially when it comes to responsible tourism.

“Blood Lions wishes to congratulate SATSA on tackling what is clearly a thorny issue around wildlife interactions in South Africa. A special thanks must also go to the SATSA members of which a majority have signed the ‘Born to Live Wild’ pledge,” says Michler.

He has called on SATSA to “distinguish between legitimate wildlife facilities versus those that are businesses looking to justify the use of animals for financial gain.”

In the pledge HSI reiterates that unknown to tourists and volunteers, “captive-bred lion cubs they are led to believe are orphaned, pay to feed, pet and walk with are raised to be a trophy hunter’s next victim.”

“The documentary film Blood Lions reveals that between 6 000 and 8000 captive-bred lions are confined to cruel conditions on farms throughout South Africa, raised purely for profit and exploitation.

It also states that SA’s move to approve the sale and export of 800 captive-bred lion skeletons for 2017, ignoring widespread public opposition – will potentially fuel the demand in Asia where lion bones are used in tonics.”

The DEA says the export will only be from captive-bred lions as per the specific parameters approved by Convention in the Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).

Lions in South Africa are listed under Appendix II which means their products can be traded internationally but only “if the trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.” The numbers of African free-range lions have declined alarmingly over the last few decades with only 20 000 remaining today, down from 30 000 just two decades ago.

#WorldLionDay: Awareness needed to double endangered lion numbers by 2050

Cape Town – August 10 is World Lion Day, and as the years pass, the celebration of this day becomes bittersweet as the magnificent cat species faces greater threat.

From South Africa’s proposed legalised export of 800 lion skeletons, to Cecil the Lion’s cub being killed by a trophy hunter in Zimbabwe, conservationists remain concerned about the devastating impact of humans on lions.

However, many conservation groups and organisations, such as Blood Lions, continue to work hard to raise awareness on trophy hunting, petting zoos and other factors that pose risks to lions – and these groups deserve recognition for their efforts in trying to save the species.

World Lion day says that the annual campaign aims “to raise much needed conservation awareness for the vulnerable African lion and endangered Asiatic lion”.

“The lion is an enduring symbol across the nations and has fascinated man throughout the millennia. To lose such a species would be to lose a significant part of our global heritage.”

“Join us in saving this magnificent species and unite those across the world in recognising their importance to us,” it adds.

Only 20 000 lions remain today

Lions in South Africa are listed under Appendix II which means their products can be traded internationally but only “if the trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.”

The numbers of African free-range lions have declined alarmingly over the last few decades with only 20 000 remaining today, down from 30 000 just two decades ago.

Panthera, a conservation group dedicated to wild cats and their landscapes, warns that a “staggering number” of lions are being killed in captivity in South Africa for “lion bone wine” and calls on government commitment to protect lions.

However, it is not only lion conservation groups who are dedicated to raising awareness on World Lion Day, as other animal protection groups – including rhinosinafrica- have joined forces to remind the public of the plight of lions

Despite the decline in lion numbers, World Lion Day on Facebook is confident that with awareness and action now, the number of lions can be doubled by 2050.

In celebration of this day in which we pay tribute to the “King of the jungle”, YouthForLions and Blood Lions launched a #WatchToWin campaign to raise awareness around the plight of one of the world’s most iconic species.

“This visionary community have partnered with Wildlands to return the reserve back to its historical status as a Big Five reserve,” says Blood Lions.

“Somkhanda forms part of a KZN Wildlife and WWF initiative, the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, which released a number of black rhino onto the reserve in order to promote their breeding and expand their range. In addition, the reserve hosts important populations of white rhino and critically endangered African wild dog,” says Blood Lions. Click here for more details

In addition to the campaign, Blood Lions – the full-length film – will be aired on television for the first time on World Lion Day, 10 August. Previously the edited 40-minute version of the film was aired on television.

“We have managed to curb the canned hunting industry quite heavily, yet the cub petting industry is proving to be very hard. We need more people to watch the film,” says Blood Lions.

ESCAPE NATURE As you read this, three lions are exploring their new home in KZN. Here’s why this is great news These cats got the creamSomkhanda Game Reserve is situated in the far northern wilds of KZN, between Pongola and Mkuze. ___4711111 Youth For Lions is the latest global awareness initiative. Find out why it’s not cool to pet cubs, and how kids can spread the word, on localhost/blog-post-data infrastructure and train local people in hospitality and reserve management. ‘There is no way captivebred lions could ever have been used in an exercise like this as they have no conservation value,’ says Ian Michler, who was also involved in Blood Lions. ‘This is about expanding habitat using wild lions, and the project being managed by the recognised conservation community.’ Somkhanda’s credentials are golden it has also been involved in the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, so doing the same for lions is just part of a day’s work. The reserve’s ecotourism approach is also laudable here visitors are encouraged to learn and contribute. Guests are involved in gathering data on game drives and bush walks, they Howard Clelland, Teaga n Cunniffe, supplied

In May this year, a male and two female lions were transferred asleep, on the back of vet Dr Mike Toft’s special trailer from Phinda to Somkhanda Game Reserve in northern KZN, which is owned and run by the local Gumbi community. The trio have spent the past two months acclimatising in a boma, and are ready to stretch their legs.

‘We feel privileged that the reserve is going to be a Big Five reserve our dream is now a reality,’ says Nathi Gumbi, a key player in this community that, after successful process of land claims in 1998, turned what were cattle and game farms into a conservation success.

The lions are the first in the area in 100 years. This means that biodiversity and ecological balance in the reserve is now restored. But the transfer is also part of a lion conservation strategy that aims to expand their range and genetic pool.

Lions were reintroduced at Phinda in 1992, and they’ve thrived to the extent that the numbers often exceed the capacity of the reserve. Finding a place to translocate them to is the tricky part, as habitat loss is one of the greatest perils facing our planet’s wildlife. It’s no surprise that one of the people behind this initiative was also a producer on Blood Lions, the recent documentary that exposed the canned-hunting and captive-breeding industry. Dr Andrew Venter, CEO of Wildlands, has been involved with Somkhanda since 2013, helping to upgrade infrastructure and train local people in hospitality and reserve management. ‘There is no way captive-bred lions could ever have been used in an exercise like this as they have no conservation value; says Ian Michler who was also involved in Blood Lions. ” This is about expanding habitat using wild lions, and the project being managed by the recognised conservation community. Somkhanda’s  credentials are golden –  it has been involved in the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, so doing the same for lions is just part of a day’s work.

The reserve’s ecotourism approach is also laudable – here visitors are encouraged to learn and contribute. Guests are involved in gathering data on game drives and bush walks, they can help with cattle dipping in neighbouring villages, or sign up for a wildlife conservation experience that includes helping to dehorn rhinos and replace their tracking collars. Back to the lions: ‘They’re bonding nicely and have been feeding well,’ David Gilroy, Wildlands Strategic Manager, told us at the end of June. ‘We anticipate a smooth release into the reserve at the end of July.

Cape Town – On 1 July 2015, Cecil the Lion was killed by an American trophy hunter in Zimbabwe, resulting in the professional hunter having his licence confiscated and facing criminal charges for poaching.

The incident sparked global uproar regarding canned lion hunting and poaching, with the Blood Lions film and campaign running worldwide with the goal to “bring an end to canned hunting and the exploitative breeding of lions and other predators on farms across South Africa”.

But despite all these global efforts to make the general public, tourists and professional hunters aware of the ramifications of pet cubbing and canned hunting, the futile death of lions in many of Africa’s parks continue at the hands of canned hunters.

Two years after the killing of Cecil the Lion, it has been reported that one of his cubs has been shot dead by a big game trophy hunter in Zimbabwe.

The six-year-old lion named Xanda, who was in his prime, was killed in similar circumstances as his father, just outside the Hwange National Park in north-west Zimbabwe, not far from where Cecil was killed in 2015.

“His death was discovered because Xanda was wearing an electronic collar, fitted by researchers monitoring his movements in the area,” reports the The Telegraph.

According to the UK news site, “when the Zimbabwean professional hunter on the shoot, Richard Cooke from RC Safaris, discovered the dead lion had a collar, he handed it back to the researchers”.

Andrew Loveridge from the Department of Zoology at Oxford University, which has a team supplying and fixing collars to monitor the lions in the Hwange National Park, says he fitted Xanda’s collar last October. “It was monitored almost daily and we were aware that Xanda and his pride were spending a lot of time out of the park in the last six months, but there is not much we can do about that,” he told The Telegraph.

“Richard Cooke is one of the ‘good’ guys. He is ethical and he returned the collar and communicated what had happened. His hunt was legal and Xanda was over 6 years old so it is all within the stipulated regulations,” he adds.

Loveridge says he hoped that there would soon be a 5km exclusion zone around the Hwange National Park so that hunters would no longer accidentally shoot collared lions that wonder outside the boundary of the Park.

“The client may have paid about £40 000 (R674 400 at R16.86/£) for the shoot and for Xanda’s head to be cured and mounted and sent to him wherever he lives,” says The Telegraph.

Remembering Cecil the Lion

Cecil the Lion’s death in 2015 placed the spotlight on trophy hunting in Africa. Although the practice is not a novelty, more and more pressure has been put on the industry’s distorted ethical arguments, in a bid to stop lion trophy hunting for good.

Cecil was killed by US hunting tourist, Walter Palmer, who reportedly has a hunting felony history, faced charges for the illegal hunt.

The 13-year-old big cat was shot at night near his birth place, close to the national park. He didn’t die immediately and was tracked down the following day. His head was cured in Bulawayo in preparation to be dried and mounted when police seized it.

The world united to bring attention to the crime committed and an image of Cecil was even projected onto the Empire State building in protest of the trophy hunt.

According to The Telegraph, more than 70% of funds to safeguard Zimbabwe’s wildlife and catch poachers come from revenue from professional hunters.

Overview of ground made to protect lions in Africa

– Australia and France have placed bans on importing lion trophies.

– The Netherlands has placed a ban on importing trophies from lions and 200 other endangered species.

– The US (the country with the most hunter-tourists) has made significant changes to have stricter import requirements.  Since January 2016, hunters wishing to import lion trophies must prove that the killing was necessary to protect lions living in the wild – which is in general very difficult to do. South African sources show that lion hunts involving hunters from the United States have decreased by 70%.

Great Britain is threatening to ban imports from 2017 if the African countries of origin do not maintain their lion numbers more effectively.

– Over 40 international airlines have banned or restricted the carrying of trophies.

– The South African hunting association PHASA has taken a firm stand against the official lion breeders in the country, the South African Predator Association (SAPA) and has distanced itself from this cruel form of hunting

Europe’s largest hunting fair, Germany’s “Jagd & Hund”, and the Austrian “Hohe Jagd & Fischerei” fair have undertaken to oppose canned hunting products and packages.

– Several African states have committed to calling for Africa’s lions to be promoted to the highest level of protection (CITES Appendix 1) at the upcoming international World Wildlife Conference, to be held in Johannesburg in September 2016. It is still uncertain whether the application will achieve the necessary majority.

Meanwhile, the South African Government plans to permit the annual export of 800 lion skeletons to curb poaching, but conservationists say this clearly supports canned lion hunting.

The recent announcement by the Department of Environmental Affiars (DEA) to set the export quota of lion skeletons for Asia to 800 has important implications for the conservation of wild lions in South Africa. Legalising the trade in lion bones has been enabled by the 17th Conference of Parties (CoP17) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) failing to transfer all lion populations from Appendix II to Appendix I and thus prohibiting the international commercial trade in lions or any lion parts.

It is estimated that there are less than 20,000 wild lions left throughout Africa with a population decline of more than 40% in the past two decades. The wild lion population is at a similar tipping point as the white rhino and is fast tracking towards extinction. The main cause of lion population decline is habitat loss, with the constant encroachment of human activity into wild areas increasingly bringing humans and wildlife into conflict.

As the export of lion skeletons will be from farmed lions, the impact on the wild lion population may not be immediately obvious. The captive breeding of lions for the purpose of killing them to supply the bone trade is considered by many to be ethically unacceptable and has the potential to harm South Africa’s global image. Recognising the negative perceptions of killing iconic wildlife for scientifically unproven treatments, the Chinese themselves banned the use of tiger parts in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in 1993.

Prior to the ban, tiger body parts had been used in TCM, with tiger bone wine marketed as a potential cure for arthritis and other bone ailments. The consumption of tiger penis was also widely practiced for its purported role in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. With tiger populations also vastly diminished due to habitat loss and hunting (only 30-80 wild tigers remain in China and it is considered functionally extinct), and no legal market for the sale of their body parts, the demand has been drastically reduced.

Although their grandparents may have used tiger parts in the past, many modern Chinese consumers have rejected the use of these traditional medicines. In response to one of China’s pre-eminent public polling companies, an overwhelming 95% of respondents said that they would take action to save wild tigers,  including abstaining from the use of tiger products. Encouragingly, educated modern Chinese men are selectively switching from TCM to Viagra to treat erectile dysfunction, according to a study by an Australian university.

The proposed new trade in lion bones from Africa to Asia is clearly due to the fact that the lion is seen as analogous to the tiger by the powerful traditional medicine industry in China. This is despite there being no documented use of lion body parts in the 2,000 year long history of TCM.

The move by South Africa is clearly intended to create a market for the estimated 6,000-8,000 captively bred lions in the country. There have already been some legal sales of lion bones in much smaller numbers starting in 2008, which has confirmed the acceptability of the product to the Asian market.

The danger here is that a much larger market could be created, if the use of lion bone in TCM is validated. We have seen this before of course with rhino horn. Though rhino horn elixirs were first prescribed in TCM more than 1,800 years ago, by the early 1990s demand was limited due to trade bans and the removal of the product from most medicines. Only around 15 rhinos were poached in South Africa each year from 1990 to 2007.

Then came 2008 and a prominent Vietnamese politician claimed that Rhino horn had cured his cancer, which had gone into remission. Validated by a high level government source, demand surged across the region. The situation has now become critical and we get used to the shocking headlines such as this, where 20-30 rhinos are poached in South Africa in just one weekend.

Does the same fate lie ahead for lions? If the SA government further legitimises this trade and validates lion bones as a valuable medicinal product will we be looking at similar horrific statistics for lion poaching in the future? The signs are already ominous. Worryingly lion poaching has increased since the first lion bones were legally sold.

We are starting to see cases of lions being poached from easy targets in wildlife sanctuaries. The fear among conservationists is that this will begin to spread further into the poaching of the already threatened wild lion populations. The decision by the SA government to trade lion bones, and therefore validate their medicinal use and give them an increased economic value, is surely only going to increase this risk. This is even more frustrating at a time when there is growing evidence that demand for wildlife products can be restricted by better awareness and education programmes in the Asian marketplace.

In addition, legalising lion bone trade will encourage further captive lion breeding and its associated unethical wildlife interactions, such as cub petting, lion walking and volunteering, when the impact of the Blood Lions documentary and campaigns, such as #HandsOffOurWildlife and Wildlife.Not Entertainers, is slowly but surely starting to make some headway.

 

Cape Town – The issue of canned lion hunting has never received as much attention than before the death of Cecil the lion or the controversial SA based-documentary Blood Lions.

And while many strides have been made over the last two years against the unethical practices of canned lion hunting – questions have remained around what the future would be for SA’s estimated 7 000 lion in captivity if the practice was banned outright.

Lions in South Africa are listed under Appendix II which means their products can be traded internationally but only “if the trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.” The numbers of African free-range lions have declined alarmingly over the last few decades with only 20 000 remaining today, down from 30 000 just two decades ago.

Criticism has been leveraged against the sale, saying it would imperil wild lions as it is feeding demand within the market – as well as raising ethical concerns around the canned lion industry and the perpetuation of other industries associated with it.

Lion bone trade promotes canned lion hunting

According to a Conservation Action Trust report, in 2016, according to Panthera, 90% of lion carcasses found in the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique all had their skulls, teeth, and claws removed while rates of poisoning lions specifically for bones increased dramatically in Niassa National Reserve in northern Mozambique. In Namibia, 42% of lions killed in the Caprivi had their skeletons removed.

According to wildlife investigator, Karl Amann, the trade is fueling the demand in Asia. The south-east Asian country now dominates the lion-bone market.

Amann says the CITES trade data base shows that  between 2009 and 2015 Laos has bought over 2000 complete lion skeletons from South Africa. This excludes the 2 300 bones and 40 skulls sold separately as incomplete skeletons”

Lion bones arrive in Laos but are then illegally exported to Vietnam without the requisite CITES export permits. Here they are boiled down, compacted into a cake bar and sold at a price of around US$1000 (currently R12 830 – R12.83/$) to consumers who add it to rice wine.

“The DEA’s move is widely regarded as open support for the controversial practice of canned lion hunting. A captive lion breeder – one of 300 in South Africa – can be paid anywhere from US$5000 (R64 150) to US$25 000 (R320 750) for each lion permitted to be shot. Now they can add an additional $1500 (R19 245) per skeleton permitted to be sold to Laotian buyers.”

So how is the quota determined and what impact assessments were done? 

A zero quota on the export of bones derived from wild lion specimens was taken at the Parties to CITES at COP17 in Johannesburg in 2016, says the DEA.

Further to this the DEA put a stop to lion bone and other derivative exports at the beginning of 2017, until a quota had been set and the management process thereof had been determined, which it now has. It says the quota will be managed at a national level, with applications still dealt with and assessed via the provincial nature conservation authorities level.

“The South African population of Panthera leo (African lion) is included in Appendix II of CITES. In terms of Article IV of the Convention, an export permit shall only be granted for an Appendix II species when a Scientific Authority of the State of export has advised that such export will not be detrimental to the survival of that species, says Molewa.

During COP17 the CITES listing for lion was amended to include the following annotation, which SA agreed to as a risk-averse intervention.

“For Panthera leo (African populations): a zero annual export quota is established for specimens of bones, bone pieces, bone products, claws, skeletons, skulls and teeth removed from the wild and traded for commercial purposes. Annual export quotas for trade in bones, bone pieces, bone products, claws, skeletons, skulls and teeth for commercial purposes, derived from captive breeding operations in South Africa, will be established and communicated annually to the CITES Secretariat.”

Added to this, the DEA says a 2015 study commissioned by TRAFFIC raised concerns around the shift in lion and tiger bone trade; namely that when the trade in tiger bone was banned; the trade shifted and bones were sourced from South Africa, available as a by-product of the hunting of captive bred lions.

“A well-regulated trade will enable the department to monitor a number of issues relating to the trade, including the possible impact on the wild populations,” says Molewa.

Quota allocations going forward?

The DEA says the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) will conduct a 3-year-long study aimed at increasing the understanding of the lion bone trade in South Africa and the captive lion breeding industry – as well as inform the Scientific Authority on a sustainable annual quota.

“It will investigate how the trade in captive produced lion bone under a quota system affects wild lion populations, and will further strengthen the evidence base for the annual review of the quota in order to ensure it is sustainable and not detrimental to wild populations.

“The decision on the annual export quota was reached following an extensive stakeholder consultation process during which the Department considered all variables, including scientific best practice. It cannot be said, therefore that this determination was made arbitrarily or in a non-transparent manner,” says Molewa.

The decision continues to spark international condemnation from conservationists and local stakeholders alike.

“It is irresponsible to establish policy that could further imperil wild lions,” says Dr Paul Funston, Senior Director of Panthera’s Lion Programme earlier this year when the DEA first proposed its plans.

Those who included their voice of concern include Singita together with other prominent safari operators &Beyond and Great Plains Conservation, warning how it was damaging the safari industry.

Panthera also called it “irresponsible to establish policy that could further imperil wild lions—already in precipitous decline throughout much of Africa—when the facts are clear; South Africa’s lion breeding industry makes absolutely no positive contribution to conserving lions and, indeed, further imperils them.”

But the DEA insists they are acting within the environmental law, and says a “well-regulated trade will enable the Department to monitor a number of issues relating to the trade, including the possible impact on the wild populations”.

Panthera has warned legalisation of a trade in lion bones will stimulate the market and endanger both captive and wild lion populations.

“There is significant evidence that South Africa’s legal trade in captive-bred lion trophies is accelerating the slaughter of wild lions for their parts in neighbouring countries and is, in fact, increasing demand for wild lion parts in Asia — a market that did not exist before South Africa started exporting lion bones in 2007.”