Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy on Wednesday announced that Cabinet has endorsed the recommendations of the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) on voluntary exit options and pathways from the captive lion industry.
Recommendations include the acquisition and incineration of lion bone stockpiles contingent upon sterilisation of lions and compliance with the voluntary exit principles.
Creecy released the task team’s report which found that South Africa currently has 7 834 captive lions in 348 facilities and about 3 163 lion skeletons and carcasses in stockpiles.
The MTT was appointed in December 2022, following a recommendation by the High Level Panel on matters relating to the management, breeding, hunting, trade and handling of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros.
The panel recommended the closure of the captive breeding sector, including the keeping of lions in captivity, or the use of captive lions or their derivatives commercially.
The task team was established to identify and recommend win-win voluntary exit options and pathways from captive lion industry.
The MTT process included engagement with general public, lion owners and industry associations, government departments, existing lion safe havens, animal welfare and protection organisations, conservation organisations, traditional health practitioners, other professionals (SAVC, NSPCA, LiMF, SANBI) and civil society representatives.
“The captive lion industry confronts escalating ethical, regulatory, conservation, and economic hurdles, with the MTT recommendations aiming to alleviate biodiversity risks and economic insecurity through mutually beneficial voluntary exit solutions for those facilities that elect to pursue this path,” the report reads.
According to the report, between 1 568 and 2 069 employees are involved in the captive lion industry and their time is often shared between other wildlife and/or agricultural related activities.
The MTT found there is a lack of alignment of legislation between provinces and some very dated ordinances are still in use and levels of permit compliance in the captive lion industry are low and consequences for non-compliance are minimal and seldom enforced.
Voluntary exit options identified included humane euthanasia of all lions and permanent exit from the industry, phase out through trade opportunities for a period of 24 months, surrender of lions to lion safe havens.
“The Key Recommendations of the Task Team were that Government approve: Phase 1: engage voluntary exit candidates to finalise the pathways and exit terms, Phase 2: acquisition and incineration of lion bone stockpiles contingent upon sterilisation of lions and compliance with the voluntary exit principles,” Creecy said.
It was also recommended that a short-term directive was issued to ensure consistent application of animal well-being is assured through issuing of permits and conducting oversights and prohibiting captive lion breeding in the medium term to safeguard benefits of voluntary exit.
“I am pleased to announce that Cabinet has endorsed the recommendations of the Task Team. I wish to thank the Ministerial Task Team, for the sterling work that it has done in producing a comprehensive and credible report with a set of findings and recommendations which address the difficult issues in the captive lion industry,” Creecy said.
Last week, Cabinet approved the revised Policy Position on the conservation and sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros for implementation.
Responding to the report, Dr Louise de Waal, director at Blood Lions said: “It was of vital importance for the MTT report to make it clear that voluntary exit should only be considered as the first step of a wider process and affirms the ultimate need for a mandatory end to the lion farming industry in South Africa.
“We need to ensure that the industry fully understands that at the end of the process the only acceptable types of lion facilities in South Africa should be ‘safe havens’ – spaces for healthy lions to be given lifetime care, where they are not used or traded for profit, and have a no breeding and no interaction with people, except for veterinary care.”
Dr Neil D’Cruze, head of wildlife research at World Animal Protection, said: “The report’s recommendation for the mass-incineration of lion bone stockpiles is of great relief given concerns that a reintroduction of lion bone exports would risk stimulating demand among Asian consumers and act as a cover for illegally sourced lion parts. The opportunity for lion farmers to legally provide canned hunts and trade lion bones domestically during the phase out window underscores the need for urgent action. Until clear time-bound objectives are set, lions will continue to suffer, legal trade will provide a cover for criminal activity, and farms continue to pose risk to public health and safety. The longer the industry continues, the more opportunity for harm endures.”
Cape Times