Threats to Lions & Lion Conservation

[iNdlovu]

Well done Avaaz. Disgusting that trade in lion bones is legal in this country

[Flutterby]

Botswana minister in lion-trade scandal



Botswana's minister of agriculture, Christian de Graaff, is under fire after he exported a large shipment of lions to a canned hunting outfit in South Africa last month.

De Graaff sent 22 lions to the Makhulu Game Farm near Boshof in the Free State. Employees at the facility, owned by Henk Vorster, openly discuss how the lions are hunted and their skeletons sold to Asian buyers. Some are bred for sale to international zoos.

At the game farm, a popular local tourist venue about 80km from Kimberley, 18 young lions were crammed together in a small quarantine enclosure of about 30m by 30m this week. With no shade and only a tiny corrugated iron-roofed hut to protect them, they were panting furiously in the blazing heat.

Other camps hold fewer lions – full-maned males and white lions. The excrement is cleaned only every two weeks, according to staff, and the stench from this and the carcasses of the donkeys fed to the lions is overwhelming. Many of the young lions are hand-reared and respond to calls from staff members, who said that until recently, there were 300 of the big cats on the farm. Now there are only about 200, including the 22 exported by De Graaff.

When a lion is sold to a trophy hunter, it is moved into a larger camp across the road and "re-wilded" for at least three months, staff said. Some are sent to other hunting farms, most often near Tosca in North West province.

After the trophy head is taken from the body, the bones are removed and the rest of the carcass is buried, they said. According to figures released by the environmental affairs department last year, the skeletons can fetch up to R80 000 and often end up being ground into potions for fake "tiger wine" or "tiger cakes".

Vorster, who has a spares shop in Hartswater and several other farms in addition to Makhulu, refused to speak to the media about the lions this week. "I am breeding with them [sic], but it is a private business and has nothing to do with you," he said.

According to Werner Böing, the environmental management inspector at the Free State department of economic development, tourism and environmental affairs, Vorster is an "approved predator breeder in our province and his facility is up to standard". Permits have been issued to move the 22 lions from Botswana to the Free State, he said.

Previous deals
De Graaff’s involvement in the breeding and hunting of lions was exposed by Botswana’s Mmegi newspaper in September. An investigation revealed that in 2005, the Botswana department of wildlife and national parks captured and donated two "problem" Kalahari lions, a male and a female, to De Graaff’s company, Phologolo Botswana Safaris.

The lions were kept at his Tautona Lodge in Ghanzi and had multiplied to 32 by the time he sent his shipment to the Free State in November. According to Mmegi, a dispute has arisen between De Graaff and Botswana’s minister of wildlife and tourism, Tshekedi Khama, over whether the lions belong to him or the Botswana government, which has banned trophy hunting.

This is not the first deal De Graaff has done with commercial game farmers in the Free State. In 2011, he was given permits to export 26 lions to a farm called Smal Deel Unissen.

He refused to answer questions from the media about his lion deals.

The Botswana Congress Party Youth League called on the agriculture minister to resign over the deals. "De Graaff should resign, be investigated or be fired," said league president Dithapelo Keorapetse. "[It] doesn’t make sense why a wildlife officer would donate precious government animals to a private citizen. It also doesn't make sense why a government minister would accept a donation of wild animals belonging to the nation."

Revenue, legality
Wild and Free South Africa, a Durban-based wildlife nongovernmental organisation, raised the alarm about the 22 lions exported across the Ramatlabama border in November.

"Botswana recently announced a moratorium on hunting, but in South Africa wildlife farmers cannot get enough stock because, from the time a cub is born until it is hunted or killed to harvest its bones, a lion is worth a pile of money to its owner," said chief ­executive Margot Stewart.

According to figures released by the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa in November, registered lion hunts showed the largest increase of any species from 2011 to 2012, from 445 to 596 lions. Revenue generated increased from R77-million in 2011 to R122-million in 2012, at an average fee of R203 000 per lion.

Department of environmental affairs and tourism spokesperson Albi Modise said Vorster's importing of the lions is legal in terms of national and international biodiversity regulations.

The department is in the process of developing a biodiversity management plan that may prohibit lions and leopards from wild populations being introduced into captive breeding facilities, he said.

It is legal to sell and export the bones of hunted lions, Modise said, provided the necessary permits have been issued. – oxpeckers.org

[Lisbeth]

Disgusting!

[Duke]

Botswana minister in lion-trade scandal

Botswana's minister of agriculture, Christian de Graaff, is under fire after he exported a large shipment of lions to a canned hunting outfit in South Africa last month.

De Graaff sent 22 lions to the Makhulu Game Farm near Boshof in the Free State. Employees at the facility, owned by Henk Vorster, openly discuss how the lions are hunted and their skeletons sold to Asian buyers. Some are bred for sale to international zoos.

At the game farm, a popular local tourist venue about 80km from Kimberley, 18 young lions were crammed together in a small quarantine enclosure of about 30m by 30m this week. With no shade and only a tiny corrugated iron-roofed hut to protect them, they were panting furiously in the blazing heat.

Other camps hold fewer lions – full-maned males and white lions. The excrement is cleaned only every two weeks, according to staff, and the stench from this and the carcasses of the donkeys fed to the lions is overwhelming. Many of the young lions are hand-reared and respond to calls from staff members, who said that until recently, there were 300 of the big cats on the farm. Now there are only about 200, including the 22 exported by De Graaff.

When a lion is sold to a trophy hunter, it is moved into a larger camp across the road and "re-wilded" for at least three months, staff said. Some are sent to other hunting farms, most often near Tosca in North West province.

After the trophy head is taken from the body, the bones are removed and the rest of the carcass is buried, they said. According to figures released by the environmental affairs department last year, the skeletons can fetch up to R80 000 and often end up being ground into potions for fake "tiger wine" or "tiger cakes".

Vorster, who has a spares shop in Hartswater and several other farms in addition to Makhulu, refused to speak to the media about the lions this week. "I am breeding with them [sic], but it is a private business and has nothing to do with you," he said.

According to Werner Böing, the environmental management inspector at the Free State department of economic development, tourism and environmental affairs, Vorster is an "approved predator breeder in our province and his facility is up to standard". Permits have been issued to move the 22 lions from Botswana to the Free State, he said.

Previous deals
De Graaff’s involvement in the breeding and hunting of lions was exposed by Botswana’s Mmegi newspaper in September. An investigation revealed that in 2005, the Botswana department of wildlife and national parks captured and donated two "problem" Kalahari lions, a male and a female, to De Graaff’s company, Phologolo Botswana Safaris.

The lions were kept at his Tautona Lodge in Ghanzi and had multiplied to 32 by the time he sent his shipment to the Free State in November. According to Mmegi, a dispute has arisen between De Graaff and Botswana’s minister of wildlife and tourism, Tshekedi Khama, over whether the lions belong to him or the Botswana government, which has banned trophy hunting.

This is not the first deal De Graaff has done with commercial game farmers in the Free State. In 2011, he was given permits to export 26 lions to a farm called Smal Deel Unissen.

He refused to answer questions from the media about his lion deals.

The Botswana Congress Party Youth League called on the agriculture minister to resign over the deals. "De Graaff should resign, be investigated or be fired," said league president Dithapelo Keorapetse. "[It] doesn’t make sense why a wildlife officer would donate precious government animals to a private citizen. It also doesn't make sense why a government minister would accept a donation of wild animals belonging to the nation."

Revenue, legality
Wild and Free South Africa, a Durban-based wildlife nongovernmental organisation, raised the alarm about the 22 lions exported across the Ramatlabama border in November.

"Botswana recently announced a moratorium on hunting, but in South Africa wildlife farmers cannot get enough stock because, from the time a cub is born until it is hunted or killed to harvest its bones, a lion is worth a pile of money to its owner," said chief ­executive Margot Stewart.

According to figures released by the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa in November, registered lion hunts showed the largest increase of any species from 2011 to 2012, from 445 to 596 lions. Revenue generated increased from R77-million in 2011 to R122-million in 2012, at an average fee of R203 000 per lion.

Department of environmental affairs and tourism spokesperson Albi Modise said Vorster's importing of the lions is legal in terms of national and international biodiversity regulations.

The department is in the process of developing a biodiversity management plan that may prohibit lions and leopards from wild populations being introduced into captive breeding facilities, he said.

It is legal to sell and export the bones of hunted lions, Modise said, provided the necessary permits have been issued. – oxpeckers.org

[Toko]

Lions 'facing extinction in West Africa'
14 January 2014

There has been a "catastrophic collapse" in the number of lions in West Africa, with only around 400 left in the region, a new survey suggests.

With fewer than 250 mature lions of breeding age, there are concerns the entire population could disappear.

The research by Panthera, a non-profit organisation, was carried out in 17 countries, from Senegal to Nigeria, and took more than six years.

West African lions are genetically distinct from others in Africa.

In 2005, West African lions were believed to live in 21 different protected areas. But the survey, published in the scientific journal PLOS One, suggests lions now exist in just four of those sites.

The report says lions now roam in just 1.1% of their historic range in West Africa. The majority of their habitat has been converted for agricultural use, says Philipp Henschel, co-author of the report.

Panthera is calling for the lion to be listed as critically endangered in West Africa.

"Our results came as a complete shock; all but a few of the areas we surveyed were basically paper parks, having neither management budgets nor patrol staff, and had lost all their lions and other iconic large mammals," Mr Henschel told the BBC's Sivaramakrishnan Parameswaran.

The conservation of lions in West Africa have been largely neglected, whereas in eastern and southern Africa where millions of dollars a year are spent, he said.

Bush meat problem
The researchers discovered that West African lions now survive in only five countries; Senegal, Nigeria and a single trans-frontier population on the shared borders of Benin, Niger and Burkina-Faso.

These lions have unique genetic sequence not found in other lions including in zoos or captivity. If they are lost then a unique locally adapted population will become extinct, researchers say.

Large-scale plantations for cotton and food crops have contributed significantly to the decline of the lions in the last decade, the survey found.

Today, lions are largely restricted to protected areas, and the poaching of animals - usually preyed upon by lions - to supply local bushmeat markets is probably the main threat, said Mr Henschel.

"In some areas, we also witnessed the retaliatory killing of lions by herdsmen that entered protected areas illegally with their herds of cattle and goats," he said.

Funding crisis
A lack of funding for conservation coupled with an increasing human population and impoverished economies, means lions are increasingly vulnerable, researchers say.

"We are talking about some of the poorest counties in the world - many governments have bigger problems than protecting lions," Mr Henschel said.

West African Lions have special significance in the culture of the region. They are a symbol of pride for the governments and people, and are represented on the coats of arms of several countries.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says concerted international help is urgently needed.

Benin and Senegal are working with the research team to establish a National Lion Action Plan to identify ways and measures to save the lions in their countries.

"Lions have undergone a catastrophic collapse in West Africa. The countries that have managed to retain them are struggling with pervasive poverty and very little funding for conservation," says Panthera's President Luke Hunter.

To save the lion will require a massive commitment of resources from the international community."

[Toko]

Read here: http://oxpeckers.org/2013/12/officials- ... ild-lions/

[Lisbeth]

That's very bad, bad, bad

[Toko]

Environmental Affairs Minister gazettes Biodiversity Management Plan for African lion for public comment
22 April 2015

The Minister of Environmental Affairs on Friday, 17 April 2015, published the Biodiversity Management Plan for the African Lion (Panthera Leo) in Government Gazette No. 38706 for public comment.

This is the first national Biodiversity Management Plan compiled for lions in South Africa. The Plan has been developed in close consultation with an encompassing group of stakeholders since 2013. The plan will be reviewed at five-year intervals to ensure it is appropriate for the circumstances at the time.

The gazetting of this management plan is in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 and the National Norms and Standards for Biodiversity Management Plans for Species which were gazetted for implementation in 2009. In addition, the plan was developed in response to the Regional Strategy for Lions in East and Southern Africa in 2005 (IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group 2006) to which South Africa contributed during the development phase. In line with the Regional Strategy, this Plan will be regarded as the national strategy for African Lions in South Africa.

This Biodiversity Management Plan allows for the monitoring and review of actions taken to conserve species in the wild amidst a changing environment. It also requires that, in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 all management plans compiled by conservation authorities are approved by the Minister for public participation and implementation respectively.

The main purpose of the proposed plan is outlined in the vision for the South African lion population: Through the existence of stable, viable and ecologically functional populations of managed and wild lions, along with well-managed captive populations that have minimal negative conservation impacts, lions will provide key opportunities for biodiversity conservation, economic development, social benefits and improved management capacity.

The Plan makes a clear distinction between wild lions in national parks, managed wild lions in smaller reserves and captive lions.

The key objectives of the BMP for lion are:

Improve the conservation status of lions within a broader conservation context, considering the respective roles of wild, managed wild and captive populations.
Encourage the development of opportunities for economic and social benefit from responsibly managed wild and captive lion populations.
Ensure legislative alignment both provincially and nationally and improve capacity to implement legislation effectively.
Establish a lion forum or working group.
Align this Biodiversity Management Plan with lion conservation plans in neighbouring countries and link with international working groups.
Members of the public are invited to submit to the Minister, within 30 days of the publication of the notice in a gazette, written representations on, or objections to the draft Biodiversity Management
Plan to the following addresses:



By post to:

The Director-General: Department of Environmental Affairs
Attention: Ms Humbulani Mafumo
Private Bag X447
Preoria
0001

Hand delivered to:

Environment House (reception)
Attention: Ms Humbulani Mafumo
473 Steve Biko Street
Arcadia, Pretoria

By fax to:

0865411102; or
012 359 3636

By e-mail to: hmafumo@environment.gov.za



Download the >> Biodiversity Management Plan for African Lion (Panthera Leo)

Comments received after the closing date may not be considered.


For media inquiries contact:

Albi Modise
Cell: 083 490 2871



NOTE:

The lion is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. It is also listed as Vulnerable on the South Africa list of Threatened or Protected Species (ToPS) in terms of Section 56 (1) of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No 10 of 2004). In addition, the lion is protected under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

[Richprins]

Encourage the development of opportunities for economic and social benefit from responsibly managed wild and captive lion populations.




The rest sounds ok?

[Toko]

Objective 2
Encourage the development of opportunities for economic and social benefits from responsibly managed wild, managed wild and captive lion populations.

Sub-objectives:
2.1. Prevent illegal trade in lions and lion products while promoting and safeguarding sustainable legal trade; and
2.2. Promote sustainable legal trade in lions and lion products.