US trophy hunting club denounces canned lion hunting

Humane Society International (HSI) and Blood Lions have welcomed the announcement from one of the largest US trophy hunting clubs, the Safari Club International (SCI), denouncing captive-bred or ‘canned’ lion hunts.

The hunting group has stated it will no longer allow the promotion or auctioning of hunts involving African lions bred in captivity. SCI says canned hunting has doubtful value to the conservation of lions in the wild.

According to the government of South Africa, private operators hold between 6 000 and 8 000 captive African lions in about 200 facilities where canned lion hunts sell for around $45 000 each, though price tags rise depending on the size and colour of the male lion’s mane.

Of the 1052 trophies from captive lions traded internationally in 2015, American hunters killed 686 animals, and imported their body parts into the US, accounting for around 65% of the total.

Effective February 4, SCI will no longer accept advertising from any operator for any such hunts, or allow operators to sell hunts for captive-bred lions at the SCI Annual Hunters’ Convention, nor include any entries of captive-bred lions into its Record Book.

Producer of the film, Blood Lions, Pippa Hankinson, says: “SA’s lion-breeding industry is shameful. Lion cubs are ripped from their mothers as early as a few days old and hand reared to habituate them to people. Paying volunteers then raise these lions under the false belief that they are orphans; the same cubs are also exploited for cub petting and, once older, for the ‘walking with lions’ activity. The adult lions are then sold off to trophy hunters for canned hunts or killed for the lion bone trade. This is a cycle of mistreatment that must end.”

Executive Director of HSI/Africa, Audrey Delsink, says: “We are proud partners with Blood Lions and the campaign to end the exploitation of captive-bred lions and the industry it perpetuates. In SA, captive breeding of lions is fraught with welfare and ethical concerns. We therefore urge the South African government to shut the lid on canned lion hunting for good.”

Other hunting organisations have already spoken out against canned lion hunting, such as the Dallas Safari Club, Boone and Crockett Club, South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association, Operators and Professional Hunters Associations of Africa, Namibia Professional Hunters Association and Rowland Ward Ltd.

The South African Professional Hunters Association amended its constitution to allow for canned lion hunts under specific circumstance in November 2017. This resulted in its suspension from the Operators and Professional Hunting Associations of Africa (OPHAA), as well as the loss of sponsorship and fragmentation of the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (PHASA).

In 2015, the SA government stated in its Biodiversity Management Plan that “captive lions are bred exclusively to generate money; however the Non-Detriment Finding Assessment for Panthera Leo (African Lion) in 2018 found that canned lion trophy hunting may serve as a buffer to potential threats to wild lions by being the primary source of hunting trophies and derived products”.

An African lion listing, US Endangered Species Act petition, from HSI and partner groups prohibited the import of captive lion trophies, effective January 22, 2016, however HIS’s review of 2016 data from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora revealed that the US government had authorised at least 280 such imports, through an inappropriate application of an exemption for captive lions killed before the effective date of the listing.

Source: tourismupdate.co.za

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