Did you know that lion farms are thriving in South Africa?

The lion in the photo, Simba, is just one of the many of these majestic creatures that are held in captivity in South Africa. The sad reality is that lion farms and canned hunting continue to exist and develop on an industrial scale. We need your help to ensure that such practices are outlawed!

In South Africa, lions are bred for one specific purpose: exploitation. The country has more lions living in captivity than there are left in the wild, believe it or not (8 000 lions in captivity vs 2 100 wild lions). Captive bred lions are a part of one big industry that has one goal: making the highest amount of money that is possible at the expense of these beautiful creatures. 

Lion cubs are taken away from their mothers shortly after birth, which is a completely unnatural process for both of them, as they stay together for about one and a half years in the wild. But this early separation is needed to get the cubs accustomed to humans. When older, the lion will be used in walking safaris. And after that he will be part of a canned hunt, where hunters can enjoy the experience and pose for trophy photos afterwards.  The cost of such a trip is situated between $13, 000 and $55, 000. But hunters are willing to pay whatever it takes for their moment of glory!

As if this is not horrible enough, the South African government has come up with something new... they want to export 800 lion skeletons of captive bred lions to countries in Asia each year! In those countries, these bones are used in the pharmaceutical industry, as they still believe that the body parts of wild animals have healing powers and health benefits. Tiger bones are usually the preferred choice for these medicines, but the since the tiger is slowly becoming exctinct, they are replaced with lions. In other words, captire bred lions are exploited from the moment they are born and even in their after life.

We must unite and ensure the South African government changes its practices and allows lions to live the life their deserve in the country, without being blatantly exploited. Once the signature target has been achieved, we will deliver the campaign to the government, but also to the South African embassy to the United Kingdom and the United States. We sincerely hope our demand will be successful and won’t be met with indifference. Thank you!