EXPOSED: Farms where lions are bred to be slaughtered

And the hunters revelling in sickening trade

THOUSANDS of lions are being bred to be killed by callous hunters or slaughtered so their bones can be turned into ‘medicines’ and trinkets sold for huge sums in the Far East.

Some of the animals are shot in fenced enclosures by wealthy trophy hunters who pay thousands of pounds to kill them for kicks. Many more are trucked to squalid slaughterhouses and held in appalling conditions until they are shot in the head and butchered.

The repulsive industry, which is rife in South Africa, has been exposed in a year-long investigation by former Tory peer Michael Ashcroft, who last night accused the British Government of being complicit in the trade because of its failure to ban the import of trophy skins. His exposé ended in victory as one lion was rescued from death at the hunters’ hands, and released into the wild in joyous scenes last night.

Lord Ashcroft’s probe – compiled by undercover investigators – is published in The Mail on Sunday today and also reveals that:

54 lions were killed at one squalid slaughterhouse in just two days;

Lion skins are being smuggled into the US via Britain, hidden inside deer skins so they are not detected by customs officials;

Lions and tigers are being crossbred in captivity in a sickening bid to squeeze greater profits from the barbaric bone trade, conservationists claim;

A London City worker paid thousands of pounds to shoot a magnificent lion with tranquiliser darts in an apparent breach of South African law.

That lion, a majestic 11-year-old called Simba, was at the centre of Lord Ashcroft’s probe. The tragic creature was bred in captivity and touted to foreign hunters looking for prime specimens to slaughter.

But thanks to the actions of the undercover investigators, Simba’s life has been saved – and was released yesterday into a large enclosure at a secret location.

Video footage showed him bounding out of a trailer and into a thick area of bush as one of his rescuers cried out: ‘Yay Simba!’

The rescue came with just hours to spare, as a source reported that a professional hunter was on his way to kill Simba. The lion was initially offered to one of the investigators last year, when he posed as a hunter wanting to bag a wildlife trophy. When the ‘hunter’ backed out – having had no intention of killing it – Simba was instead offered to Miles Wakefield, a British hunter, who paid around €3,400 to pursue him through an enclosed hunting area before shooting the animal with two powerful tranquiliser darts.

Heartbreaking images of the incident are published in today’s Mail on Sunday, showing a terrified and confused Simba staggering through the bush before finally collapsing in the dust. Mr Wakefield, 48, this weekend said he believed he was participating in a legal conservation operation, and said he was ‘misled’ by the safari bosses. Lord Ashcroft’s operators spent the last two months trying to extricate the lion from a ranch owned by professional hunter Freddie Scheepers. Mr Scheepers, however, kept dragging his feet. It took an offer of $2,000 (€1,800) to speed up the process, and on Thursday a transport company and vet arrived at the ranch to humanely drug and move the animal.

A PRICE ON THEIR HEADS: When undercover investigators asked about hunting lions they were offered a ‘catalogue’ and price list via WhatsApp

Once fearsome and majestic, now pitiful, terrified and stumbling, Simba staggers into a tree, not knowing which way to turn.

In the heartbreaking video footage of the so-called ‘hunt’ obtained by undercover investigators, Wakefield aims a tranquiliser gun at the lion from about 20 yards away. Scheepers tells him to aim for the muscle in Simba’s right leg.

Wakefield raises the tranquiliser gun to his shoulder again but opts not to fire. Instead he and Scheepers continue to chase the increasingly confused and desperate Simba.

As he continues to shadow the increasingly distressed lion, Wakefield turns back and smirks at the rest of the hunting party as they watch the appalling spectacle from the safety of the 4x4 vehicle.

As Simba lies helpless, a blue cloth is placed over his eyes. Throughout the ‘hunt’, one of the party has been monitoring the time. It is understood they fear the tranquiliser will wear off and that Simba will turn on them.

Exhausted and clearly terrified, Simba cowers by a tree after being stalked by British City worker Miles Wakefield and safari owner Freddie Scheepers in a 4x4 pick-up truck, on the second day of the so-called ‘green hunt’ in a fenced 1,100-acre area.

Members of the hunting party appear to mockingly laugh as Simba makes one last valiant attempt to escape, despite being barely able to walk, before he collapses in the dust.

Cornered and close to the electric fence marking the edge of the hunting enclosure, Simba can be heard growling as he tries to flee his tormentors.