South Africa is currently moving towards banning the breeding of captive lions who are used for hunting and petting.
The amazing announcement was made on May 2, 2021.
The aim of the announcement and the government of South Africa is to make trips to South Africa more authentic.
The news comes after a review panel expressed concerns that the breeding of the large cat for such purposes can affect the conservation efforts for lions.
As of writing this article, there are around 8000 to 10000 lions being kept in captivity in the country.
The panel had 26 people and they produced a 600 word report detailing their thoughts on the current issue.
The report was then sent forward to Barbara Creecy, the Environment Minister of the country.
Creecy currently plans to adopt all the suggestions of the panel.
Right now, the country is on its way to end captive breeding and keeping lions for commercial gain.
The report also called for an end to the trading of lion bones.
Lion bones are used as hunting trophies, jewellery, and ingredients that are used in Chinese medicines.
Talking about the report, Creecy said:
We must halt and reverse the domestication of lions through captive breeding and keeping. We don’t want captive breeding, captive hunting, captive (cubs) petting, captive use of lions. I have requested the department to action this accordingly and ensure that the necessary consultation for implementation is conducted.
However, hunting will not stop.
Creecy said that she had no plans of ending the hunting of South Africa’s wild lions.
Talking about this, she said:
Preventing the hunting of captive lions is in the interests of the authentic wild hunting industry, and will boost the hunting economy and our international reputation, and the jobs that this creates.
Right now, there are around 10,000 lions being kept in captivity and there are only 3,000 wild lions roaming freely.
This makes lions vulnerable, according to the IUCN Red List.
World Animal Protection, an animal charity, has described the plans of South Africa as a win for wildlife.
The good thing is that we are getting close day by day to saving our animals. Let’s hope we will ban hunting for good in the upcoming years.
What are your thoughts on the recent plans of South Africa? Let us know what you think about it by leaving a comment in the comments section below!