About 12 lions each year are raised in captivity in South Africa only to be shot at by tourists. A new film tells about this horror
They are tourist attractions and hunting trophies, their bones and body parts then feed the black market of traditional Chinese medicine. We are talking about thousands of lions, about 12 thousand that every year are bred in captivity in South Africa to then be shot by tourists.
To tell what lies behind the business of captive lions are a book and a documentary entitled Unfair Game: An Exposé of South Africa's Captive-bred Lion Industry to be released in a few days. Lord Ashcroft, an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster explains the horror in the lion farms, animals that become fun and entertainment for rich tourists. After launching a major investigation into lions becoming ingredients in the black market of traditional Chinese medicine, the philanthropist now tells us about 12 captive-bred specimens in South Africa - four times higher than the number of wild lions in the wild.
From birth to death, lions live in enclosures. They are drugged with tranquilizers and tamed as if they were pets. Tourists pay to shoot them or to pose next to them. For years, various associations such as Humane Society and Blood Lions, have denounced this type of farming linked to tourism. A thriving market, given that a single specimen represents a high and secure source of income. A life of mistreatment, far from animal welfare and their habitat. From puppies they are torn from the mother so as to favor further and unnatural mating and litters. The photo with the lion cub is also very popular. Once grown, the lion becomes the prey. Mind-boggling figures for shooting an animal in an enclosure: a true hero gesture. And then in death? The bones are sold on the Chinese market.
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Lord Ashcroft in the book shows how tourists are used to support the abuse of lions, how these animals are drugged and urges the British government to ban the importation of captive-bred lion trophies. But he also shows, Asia's insatiable appetite for lion bones, which has become a multi-million dollar business linked to crime and corruption.
“It is no exaggeration to say that lion abuse in South Africa has become an industry. Thousands of them are raised on farms, used as perks in the tourism sector and then killed or slaughtered, ”he explains in the documentary.
@Lord Ashcroft wildlife
A brief existence in which they are undernourished, beaten and ill-treated in general. “My research suggests that it is highly likely that there are currently at least 12 captive-bred lions in the country, against a wild population of only 3. Yet only a small number of people - a few hundreds - profit from this industry. Thanks to the constitution and laws of South Africa, they seem able to operate as they wish ”.
My new @YouTube film – linked to my new book #UnfairGame – that reveals shocking revelations about captive-bred lion farming in South Africa #UnfairGame #SociallyUnacceptable
WATCH FULL FILM HERE ???https://t.co/smw0em3UZQ pic.twitter.com/oCOXbDj8pV
- Lord Ashcroft (@LordAshcroft) June 14, 2020
In the documentary, we see gruesome images of tourists shooting a lioness while it is in a tree: nine shots waiting for its agony. Ashcroft argues that this type of farming is not only cruel and unethical, but could lead to situations like the one that triggered the new coronavirus. According to the data, an adult male lion raised in captivity can be worth as much as $ 40. "Lion farming puts South Africa, a country I have been visiting for years, to shame. It is time to recognize that it is a cruel and barbaric industry that has no place in the 21st century," explains the philanthropist who will donate all book rights and films to wildlife charities in South Africa.
Fonte: Lord Ashcroft wildlife
Read also:
- Sick, undernourished and in horrible conditions risk dying in the worst zoo in the world
- The terrifying images of neglected lions, bred to be petted by tourists
- Tourists kill a lion just to take a picture
