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ALBERT
AGAINST LION BREEDING
AND ECOLOGICAL RE-INTRODUCTION TOURISM
A CON-CONSERVATION CAUSE?
Captive Breeding and Canned Hunting Connections
There are believed to be some 3,000-6,000 lions held in captive breeding facilities in South Africa (figure from Born Free website). An independent report on the industry was undertaken in 2005 by the environmental journalist Ian Michler, on behalf of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The report concludes in its summary that the captive breeding industry mainly exists to feed the canned hunting industry. One of the problems identified is that most of the direct regulation of large predators takes place at provincial, rather than national, level and this is where the framework is weakest. The following summary is prepared largely from this report. Download the full report from the IFAW website.
“Mr Michler found that captive breeding facilities are concentrated in three provinces: Limpopo, Free State and North West, but that the Eastern Cape is likely to become another centre. In some captive breeding operations, large predators are being kept in small enclosures and are regarded more as farm animals than wild animals by breeders. Mr Michler found that canned hunting is still prevalent and, while hunting does not normally take place on farms where predators are bred, there are often close links between breeding and hunting operations.”
Historically, both the hunting of and the keeping in captivity of large predators has been regulated mainly at provincial level by a complex system of permits and licences issued by the relevant provincial conservation authority under the relevant nature conservation ordinance (which vary by province and have not been extensively reviewed since 1994).
Some provinces have instituted a voluntary moratorium on the issuing of permits for captive breeding of large predators. The national Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism asked the provinces to impose the moratorium in 1997 in the wake of The Cooke Report, a documentary film which exposed canned hunting practices. In response to a question in Parliament on 3 September 2004, the Minister indicated that five provinces (Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and Western Cape) had imposed the moratorium since 1997 and that a sixth, Limpopo was undergoing public consultation on the issue. An article in the Mail and Guardian on 24 November 2004 suggested that there was some doubt as to how strictly provinces were adhering to the moratorium. Captive breeding permits are not necessarily issued for a limited time. It is therefore possible that breeding facilities were (and are) continuing to operate under permits issued before the moratorium.
Mr Michler’s general impression was that “inefficiency, complicity and lack of will” on the part of provincial officials is undermining the effectiveness of the regulatory system. He also found evidence of corruption in some provinces and points to the lack of uniformity between legislation in different provinces as a further cause of ineffective control of these industries.
Ian Michler’s impression is that the captive breeding of large predators is a growing industry. Captive-bred predators are mainly used to supply the hunting industry but local and international trade is also becoming important. Large sums of money are involved both in trading and hunting large predators. This had led to animals being farmed like domestic animals, sometimes kept in cages or small enclosures. It may also contribute to a disregard for the legislation, particularly where enforcement is not effective. Animals are being intensively bred according to what is desirable in a trophy. There is a demand for unusual animals therefore specific colour morphs (black leopards, “king” cheetah, white lions) are being bred intensively and indigenous species are being cross-bred with exotic species.
Apart from considering conditions in the industry, Mr Michler’s report also indicated serious problems with the implementation and enforcement of law and policy by the provincial conservation departments. This is perhaps the most important way in which the current regime is failing to protect large predators. While some provincial conservation authorities have good levels of expertise and capacity, the provinces in which most of the hunting and captive breeding of large predators takes place apparently seem to be the least effective in enforcing the law.
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