August 1, 2012
Produced by Richelle Seton-Rogers
We focus on the lion bone trade which has grown hugely over the past few years. Many people know about how the rhino is being poached for its horn, which is used in traditional medicines in Asia, but few know that lion bones are also being used as a replacement for tiger bones in tiger bone wine in Asia, since the tiger numbers have plummeted so drastically. There are concerns that the trade, which is now just a by-product of the hunt, will eventually spill over into wild lion populations.
This is a follow-up to Part One of this series in which we revealed that canned hunting is still taking place in South Africa, despite the perception by many South Africans that it had been stopped years ago. We also investigated the so-called “green con”, where volunteers are paying exorbitant amounts to come to South Africa to hand raise lion cubs under the impression that they are doing it for conservation, showing that often it is just a money making scheme.
This episode showed lions that have been rescued from bad situations and analysed how being bred in captivity can impact on the welfare of these iconic African animals. Many conservationists feel that the captive bred and wild lion is not protected by the law and that there are many holes in the permitting system for the breeding and hunting of lion. They say the country needs to have standardised regulations across all provinces.
This series interrogates the regulatory framework as far as this industry is concerned. Is the Lion in danger of becoming extinct? Some experts say that in twenty years the wild lion population has dropped by 80%. Today, only 2 800 lions are left in the wild in South Africa. However, the lion is only listed as vulnerable and not endangered, which affords them less protection.
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