NEWS/VIEWS – SOUTH AFRICA: The captive lion breeding in South Africa is out of control. It is an abusive process. They are bred to be hunted in canned hunts. A private zoo owned and managed by Mr Slippers contained 72 lions, four tigers and two caracals. The lions were fed with one dead giraffe every two to three weeks. They starved, became emaciated and were living in deplorable conditions reports The Times.
Seven lions escaped the pitiful place to look for food. They were tracked down in villages near Ingogo Safaris in Limpopo Province, South Africa by the police. Douglas Wolhunter, from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) said that Mr Slippers should never have been given a permit to keep big cats. Complaints have been made against him for a decade.
…deplorable conditions – underweight lions, lack of adequate shelter, lack of veterinary treatment, unhygienic and small enclosures…
The story highlights the lack of proper oversight of the captive lion industry in South Africa. South Africa does have animal welfare laws such as the Animal Protection Act No. 71 of 1962 and Limpopo has provincial laws. Clearly they are inadequately enforced. The act mentioned prohibits cruelty to wild animals in captivity.
Mr Slippers is going to be charged with animal cruelty. He denies the allegations against him saying that “The media will say anything to sell a story, there is no truth in this. Lions are back in their camp and safe”.
I hope the lions’ welfare is being attended to as a matter of urgency. We have no report on this aspect of the story which is typical of the news media. It is all human-centric. Were they shot? I bet they were. Just to add to the cruelty and crappy human behaviour.
