Why cuddling a lion cub can threaten conservation efforts
According to Four Paws, South Africa is the largest legal exporter of lion bones and skeletons for use in Southeast Asia.
THE director of one of the largest animal welfare organisations in South Africa has spoken out against human’s interaction with cub lions.
In a media statement, Fiona Miles from Four Paws said not everyone had the best interests of the iconic African big cat at heart adding that unsuspecting animal lovers could be contributing to the decimation of the lion population, through engaging in animal interactions.
Miles said the notions that most of the lion cubs were orphans were not true.
“These cubs are bred on demand in captivity to feed these petting establishments with a continuous stream of lion cubs,” explained Miles.
She said there were around 300 farms on which lions are bred and kept for commercial purposes in South Africa.
While there are about 3000 wild lions living in national parks and reserves in South Africa, there are between 8000 and 10 000 lions living in captivity.
Read also – LISTEN: North Durban pet owners warned over crowned eagles
What’s more, she said petting cubs has a negative impact on their health.
“Big cats sleep many hours a day – especially young cubs. These lion cubs are forced to interact with the paying public for up to 8 to 10 hours a day, resulting in exhaustion. For these big cats to ‘safely’ interact with people during cub petting and lion walks, they need to be habituated. This involves removing cubs from the care of their mothers within hours to days of birth, to be hand-reared by people. This is not only stressful for the mother and her cubs, but the cubs also don’t receive the goodness of the mother’s milk,” she said.
You might also be interested in this story – Greenpeace Durban heads to Knysna for ‘treeforestation’ festival
Miles added that cub petting feeds the lion trade.
About 600 to 700 captive lions are killed in trophy hunts each year and those that are not killed in canned lion hunts are slaughtered for their bones, said Miles.
“This trade stimulates demand for lion bones and incentivises poachers to target lions and sell their bones into these markets,” she said.
According to Four Paws, South Africa is the largest legal exporter of lion bones and skeletons for use in Southeast Asia, with an annual export quota of 800 lion skeletons approved in 2018 by the then Department of Environmental Affairs.
For more from Northglen News follow us on Facebook or Twitter. You can also follow us on Instagram
