Africa Wild

They are talking about breeding lions not taking lions from the wild, just to be exact. I am against it just as much as you are, but the wild lions in Africa will not be touched reading Prof. Potgieter and he never said more or less extinct. His intent was to say that the closer the tiger gets towards extinction.

IT is morally and ethically wrong to help feeding the superstitions of a country. Ignorance is a bad beast and hard to get rid of. The only plus is, that they will leave the wild lions in peace, even if it is a small consolation.

"Why not do it in their own country?"

It would be far more expensive!!

But Lis, once there is a huge demand for lion bone, the poaching will start!

The prices will probably not be high enough to risk poaching as there is a legal supply.....I hope

Lisbeth wrote:They are talking about breeding lions not taking lions from the wild, just to be exact. I am against it just as much as you are, but the wild lions in Africa will not be touched reading Prof. Potgieter and he never said more or less extinct. His intent was to say that the closer the tiger gets towards extinction.

They are either extinct or not extinct,

Penga Ndlovu wrote:the more the Asian tiger gets extinct, the more people will try to get hold of lion bones as a substitute," he said.

Just to be polemical....they can be close to extinction

rhino
dogs
scorpions, now lions........wat is wrong with this population

Panthera, a wild cat conservation group, published a new report in the international conservation journal, Oryx, concerning the reintroduction of captive lions to the wild.

Press Release

PDF: Walking with Lions

In conclusion, even under the best possible circumstances, breeding lions in captivity does little to address the root causes of the species’ decline in the wild. Resources and attention would be more productively steered towards securing existing lion habitat and mitigating anthropogenic killing of lions and their prey

News24
2012-08-16 09:26

Potchefstroom - Lion bones have become a hot commodity for their use in Asian traditional medicine, driving up exports from South Africa to the East and creating new fears of the survival of the species.

Conservationists are already angry over lion trophy hunting.

The skeletons are mostly shipped to Vietnam and Laos, feeding conservationists' fears that the market will drive up lion poaching - just as the illegal hunting of rhinos escalates for their horns, also popular in Asian traditional remedies.

"Suddenly, and very recently, there are a great number of people from Laos who have a big interest for trophy hunting. And that had never happened in the whole history of Laos," said Pieter Kat from conservation NGO LionAid.

Around 500 lions are hunted legally every year in SA, most of them from commercial lion breeding farms which also supply zoos all over the world.

Threatened species

Until recently hunters paid $20 000 just for a trophy to hang above the fireplace, and the carcass was thrown to the dogs.

But their crushed bones have become popular as substitute for the bones of tigers in love potions or "tiger wine". Trade in tiger parts is banned under international law as the animal is a threatened species.

Now Asian hunters buy lion trophy hunting permits to get at the bones.

"They prefer hunting lionesses, whose $4 000 price tag is more affordable than the males," Kat said.

Most swear it's about the trophy, which means safari operators and breeders can easily dispose of the carcass at the same time and make an extra buck.

A lion skeleton these days fetches up to $10 000.

A few hundred partial or complete lion skeletons were shipped out of the country in 2010, according to latest official figures - all completely legal.

The trade started in 2008.

Illegal exporters

"That trade is monitored very, very closely by provincial officers," said Pieter Potgieter, chair of the South African Predator Breeders Association.

"They don't release the bones unless they are sure that they come from a legally hunted lion or that the lion died of natural causes."

But activists cry foul play, saying it is worsening the captive breeding of lions for what has come to be known as "canned" hunting.

"Lions are now being specifically bred in captivity to be 'harvested' for their bones," said Paul Hart, who runs a lion sanctuary in the south west of the country.

Animal rights groups also say some cats are killed off on the sly, a theory possibly supported by the nabbing of illegal exporters at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

Breeders are also coy about the number of lions they have on their farms. South Africa is thought to have 5 000 in captivity.

But the bones of wild lions - thought to be more potent - are worth even more in Asia, which threatens the 3 000 big cats left in the country's reserves, animal rights groups say.

Petition

Around 700 000 people signed an online petition asking President Jacob Zuma to suspend lion bone exports from his country.

"It is just a question of time before the poachers find their way in this market and kill the lions. Why should they go and buy an expensive carcass from a breeder if they can poach it and get it for nearly nothing?" said Chris Mercer from the Campaign Against Canned Hunting.

Breeders deny the lion bone trade will spark poaching similar to that of rhino. Almost 500 were killed in 2011 alone for their horns, though the trade is banned.

"If lion bone is available legally, on the market, why would anyone choose to take all the risks and costs associated with poaching?

"The South African lion breeding industry can supply a lot of demand, and we can make a contribution toward the saving of the Asian tigers and also the South African lions," Potgieter argued.

Groups are divided over the dilemma: Maintain a legal and regulated trade in lion carcasses from animals bred in captivity or outlaw the trade and risk a spike in poaching.

Authorities, meanwhile, have remained silent.

2012-08-18 12:07

Johannesburg - Posters depicting President Jacob Zuma overseeing a lioness about to be executed with a handgun were removed from the OR Tambo international airport, in Kempton Park, the Beeld newspaper reported on Saturday.

Airports Company SA (Acsa) told Primedia, who put the posters up on behalf of international NGO Avaaz.org, to remove the posters from the pillars of airport's international arrival hall on Friday.

The posters, which were digitally altered to have Zuma's face on it, read: "President Zuma can save her [the lioness's] life."

The posters were part of a campaign to prevent the canned hunting of lions, as well as the sale of their organs to the Far East.

Emma Ruby-Sachs, an Avaaz.org co-ordinator from Canada told the newspaper the organisation would hire a South African lawyer to take the matter to court.

"We will not tolerate this conduct. How can more than 700 000 people's voices just be quietened? "

The organisation said it "had a hunch" that the decision to remove the posters was because of political interference.


- SAPA

August 25 2012 at 01:33pm
By SIMON BLOCH
Comment on this story

The image of President Jacob Zuma is at the centre of a freedom of expression storm again – but this time it is more than 700 000 internet activists who are offended after the Airports Company of South Africa this week buckled under pressure to remove advertising posters calling on Zuma to stop a burgeoning international trade in lion bones.

The advertising campaign - paid for by the 15 million member strong internet NGO Avaaz – focused on a poster collage of the president’s face with an image of a lion being executed.

The posters, bought from Primedia’s advertising arm, had been on display for less than a week of a 30-day contract period when they were summarily stripped off the walls of OR Tambo International Airport’s international arrivals hall.

The poster shows a lioness looking down the barrel of a gun with an image of a thoughtful Zuma in the background. The caption reads, “President Zuma Can Save Her Life”. Underneath the poster the campaign sponsor’s name is printed with the message: “Our lions are being slaughtered to make bogus sex potions for Asia. Will President Zuma save them? Urge him to stop the deadly trade now.”

Launched in June, Avaaz’s Stop the Trade in Lion Bones campaign aims to collect one million internet signatures - of which 710 000 have been recorded - for a petition to put pressure on the SA government to end the lion bone trade.

SA is the world’s largest exporter of lion bones and the latest government figures show a 250 percent increase in these exports between 2009 and 2010. Mainly sourced from “canned” hunts, the bones are used in far eastern traditional medicines. A lion skeleton is estimated to be worth over $10 000 (R84 000) in some Asian countries.

Avaaz director Emma Ruby-Sachs said the NGO was considering its legal options. Speaking from Chicago, she said: “We are confident that our ads are legal and should not be censored. No one has shown us any proof that we are infringing on the laws. Millions of people visit South Africa every year to see its majestic wildlife, but it comes with a dark secret – lions are being killed and their bones harvested to make bogus remedies for Asia.”

Primedia’s Outdoor’s Sales and Marketing Executive Peter Lindstrom said it had had no option but to comply with Acsa’s instructions.

“We received an e-mail from the Airports Company last Wednesday saying the posters were offensive and in contravention of the Advertising Standards Act code of conduct and that they wanted them removed… we don’t censor our client’s products, so we referred the artwork to the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA).”

ACA’s advice, Lindstrom said, was that the use of Zuma’s face could be problematic as Avaaz had not secured permission for its use.

But, he said, it was with regret that Primedia complied.

Acsa spokesman Solomon Makgale confirmed the order had been given to Primedia to remove the posters but said his company “only acted after a member of the public had phoned the company and alerted them to the posters”.