In the famous French movie ‘Mia and the White Lion’ , a young Mia is shocked when an adult lioness raised at her father’s lion farm is killed at point blank range by some wealthy tourists. Before the same fate befalls her best friend- an endangered White Lion, Mia decides to protect him and transport him safely to a Timbavati Game Reserve – the land of the iconic white lions. We,as viewers, were also horrified to watch the scene unfolding just as young Mia – a scene depicting canned hunting of African Lions.
In the year 2020-21 South Africa’s Environment Minister Barbara Creecy, appointed a panel of experts to review policies relating to elephant, lion, leopard, and rhinoceros management which include breeding, hunting, and trade of their body parts, thereby signalling a step towards imposing a ban on captive breeding and sale of captive bred lion or it’s body parts.
Wildlife experts welcomed this decision which will pave the way in a new direction for the country’s efforts to conserve one of the world’s most iconic species- the African Lion. However they foresee an unseen future full of various obstacles should this ban actually get implemented. Will the majestic lion roam freely in the wild again? Will the captive bred lions regain their wild instincts?
How does ‘Canned Hunting’ take place?
By definition ‘Canned hunting’ refers to hunting of animals in a closed enclosure. ‘Canned’ refers to ‘in the can’. These enclosures may be of various sizes and shapes, however one thing is for sure- there is no chance of escape. The animals are mostly human-habituated, meaning they are bred in captivity by the private breeders or acquired from animal farms, circuses or zoos. Few days old lion cubs are separated from their mothers and are reared like pet animals till they reach adult stage.These lions lose their wild instincts and become habituated to humans.
Petting canned lions
The rich and the wealthy tourists pay hefty amounts to ‘pet’ or play with cute lion cubs. Such tourists pay for the opportunity to have their photos taken while cuddling and bottle-feeding young cubs. A second type of close encounter marketed by lion- farms is the “lion walk.” where tourists enjoy a walk alongside adult lions through fenced facilities. A photographic safari of the game ranch is also conducted where tourists can get a glimpse of big cats of Africa at one place.
According to wildlife experts, when lions outgrow petting zoos and “lion walk” and are no longer a commodity, they are sold off to intermediaries, who resell them to hunting grounds The lions bred on farms are malnourished and kept in poor and unhealthy conditions. Only those selected for Canned Hunting are fed a premium diet. Such lions do make a nice trophy!
Canned hunting is highly profitable
Once the lion is selected with a suitable price tag on the hunting day, it is released into a confined area surrounded with fences. No lion can escape this area. Within few seconds or minutes it falls prey to the hunter’s bullet. These so-called ‘hunters’ pay up to $40,000 per “hunt” in Cameroon, to $50,000 in South Africa and upto $75000 in Tanzania. Except there is no real hunting involved – nobody even needs to be an expert in shooting!
The body parts of the lions are sold as trophies or become a part of wildlife trade to be sold for millions of dollars in the traditional medicine industry.
South Africa- A hunter’s paradise!
South Africa is arguably the most sought after destination for wealthy trophy hunters. And who would disagree? A variety of diverse habitats, a wide range of trophy animals along with a highly developed professional hunting and ranching industry all mixed with the African culture and hospitality- a dream destination for any hunter.
In South Africa, canned hunting focuses mostly on lions (Panthera leo), but other animals such as the two species of African rhinoceroses are also hunted. Recent numbers suggest around 450 lion farms are holding around 10000 -12000 lions captive as compared to mere 3000 lions currently in the wild. According to researcher Damm .G, 90% of lions shot in South Africa are canned.
Are Lions a mere commodity? The rising ethical conflicts
Fair chase ethic -Traditional hunters do not support this practice of hunting captive bred lions. According to them, canned hunting does not establish a relationship between the hunter and the lion. While age-old hunters study the animal and its behavior, they also respect nature and wildlife.The ethics of hunting are not followed during canned hunt.
On the other hand, game ranchers claim that the animals they kill are spared a more violent and pitiful death due to starvation, infection or intra-species fights.
Weakened Genes-The practice of selective breeding causes genetic manipulation while inbreeding contributes to weakening of genetic pool. Studies conducted in captive bred lions demonstrated sperm abnormalities and susceptibility to diseases in second and third generations of lions bred on farm.
The deliberate cross-breeding or hybridization of species to select for mutant variations like the ‘white lions’ further threatens the genetic pool.
Violation of animal rights– People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the Born Free Foundation and Humane Society International claim, that the act of hunting itself violates an animal’s right to life and causes unnecessary suffering and trauma to the poor animal.
Canned hunting further blunts the wild instincts of the animals, it steals away the freedom to live and roam free in wild.
Professional Hunters Association of South Africa [PHASA] has come out strongly against canned hunting and predator breeding.
The Conservation Myth: Kill the Lions to Save Them!
There is considerable debate over the widespread claim, that canned hunting benefits conservation. According to a study conducted by Ripple and co workers- “Many animals would not exist in the ‘wild’ were it not for commodifying them in game ranches”
A study published by Lindsey and colleagues (2012) demonstrate 30 percent of South African hunting operators firmly believe that canned hunts contribute to the survival of wild stocks.
In the 1990’s , when the first captive bred facilities started in South Africa, there was a speculation that, captive breeding will take the pressure off wild populations of animals.As the hunting industry continued to soar, the revenues forced the governments to change policies. A unique law passed by the government, the Game Theft Act, gave the ownership of the wildlife to private land owners. Elsewhere in most of the countries,wildlife is owned by the state.
This decision encouraged farmers, cattle ranchers and private landowners to build animal farms which ultimately supported trophy hunting. Around 19 million large mammals have been raised on such game ranches in last 30 years. There are enough prey animals for captive bred big cats.On the contrary, Kenya which has banned all hunting in 1977, has seen an almost 70 percent reduction in wildlife in that time.
What has been the broader impact of canned hunting?
Such decisions caused more harm to the ecosystem than any good. Many agricultural lands are converted into breeding farms and ranches. This caused habitat fragmentation and disruption in migratory routes of other animals.
Inbreeding practices and keeping animals in high density can cause spread of viruses which may spill over to wild populations.
The African Lion is already under pressure due to rapid urbanization, habitat loss, poaching and trophy hunting. Only about 20,000 African lions are presumed to be in wild according to Panthera, a wildlife NGO.The lion is already extinct in 26 African countries.
What are the laws regarding canned hunting?
Canned Hunting is not directly regulated by international law. It is indirectly regulated through CITES under the commercially bred exception provided for under Article VII. Under this exception, “Appendix I species bred in captivity for commercial purposes shall be deemed to be specimens of species in Appendix II“.
However, commercial export of parts and derivatives of captive-bred lions in South Africa is subject to an exception under Appendix II on which the African lion is listed. This annotation provides that export quotas apply to trade in bones, bone pieces, bone products, claws, skeletons, skulls, and teeth and that these export quotas must be established and communicated annually to the CITES Secretariat.
Various loopholes in the regulatory policies favour captive hunting. Since trophy hunters use the parts of lions for personal use and not commercial use, lion trophies are exempted from export permit.
While CITES consider trophy/canned hunting as a conservation tool, IUCN ( International Union for Conservation of Nature) has taken a firm stance against this practice on the basis of lack of ethics and have also dismissed the claims regarding its role in conservation.
But what has South Africa done?
By 2007, due to rampant killing of captive bred lions, the South African government passed a law requiring all captive-bred lions to be released onto private reserves at least two years before they could be hunted, so that they develop survival skills.This was challenged by the game ranchers and lion farm owners in the court and they won!
In 2014, CACH (Campaign Against Canned Hunting), organized a Global March for Lions in over 2 dozen countries to raise voice against this practice. Their activitists have put pressure on political leaders to ban this practice and the associatd sale of bones in order to conserve big cats.
Conclusion
Almost 3 years have passed since the historic decision made by Barbara Creecy. Nothing has changed or has been implemented. Meanwhile, a new variety of lion breeders, who are raising lions only for their bones have emerged in South Africa.
The mighty lion still continues to fight for its survival…
It seems ,children of this generation may indeed only have the fictional “Lion King” to rely upon as the real life Simba’s existence continues to be threatened by us – humans!
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Written by: Dr. Nupur Sawant