Cape Town - International animal welfare organisation Four Paws says further investigation should be done in the province to see whether there might be more unreported cases of people keeping predators as pets in captivity.
This follows an incident on Wednesday in which detectives attached to the Organised Crime Investigations unit followed up on information about a lion cub that was transported from Thabazimbi in Limpopo to the Western Cape.
Four Paws director Fiona Miles said it is not uncommon to find a lion being kept as a pet in a Gauteng backyard, “yet in Cape Town it’s the exact opposite. One has to ask why the animal came to Cape Town, what the purpose would’ve been?”
Miles said in the Western Cape no private person may keep predators as pets in captivity. However, in the rest of the country, each province has different by-laws and ordinances in place.
“The growing number of people living with wild and exotic animals in urban areas shows the country’s lack of proper measures to deal with wild animal populations. Ideally, someone should never be allowed to keep a lion or other predator as a pet proper investigation should be done to ensure that the necessary penalties can be enforced,” Miles said.
CapeNature spokesperson Loren Pavitt confirmed that “together with the police we are investigating multiple criminal cases regarding the suspected illegal import, transport, trade and possession of lion cubs in the greater Cape Town area”.
Pavitt said investigations were ongoing. “Any lions found will be dealt with according to our provincial protocol which is based on international best practice.”
SAPS spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana revealed that various addresses had been searched in the Athlone area until the cub was found.
“A case docket of possession of endangered species was registered and the cub was taken to a place of safety. Its estimated street value is R50000. Three people aged between 28 and 30 were taken in for questioning.”
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