Lion bone trade debate in court spotlight

SOUTH Africa’s controversial lion bone trade is due to come under the spotlight soon when the emotional topic is debated in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.

While the National SPCA is against this trade, farmers who breed lions in captivity said a ban on trading would kill their industry and income.

They say the notion that the international trade in lion bones can have a negative impact on the survival of lions as a species in the wild is a myth and fuelled by emotion which is not supported by the true facts.

This is according to the SA Predator Association, which represents the farmers. The organisation obtained permission from the court this week to join the proceedings in which government’s set annual quota of 1 500 lion skeletons for export will be attacked by the SPCA.

The organisation will ask the court to interdict Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa from issuing any permits for the exportation of any lion bones. This is pending the finalisation of a second application in which it will ask the court to set aside Molewa’s determination of the quota for the exportation of these bones.

The National SPCA wants the exportation of lion bones to be declared unlawful and unconstitutional.

The department last month increased the annual export quota of lion skeletons from 800 to 1 500. South Africa is the largest exporter of lion bones to mainly Vietnam, China and Thailand. The bones are mainly used for fake tiger bone wine, falsely believed to be a health drink.

A report on South Africa’s lion bone trade has called for the end of the trade and said this is benefiting only a few people, mainly linked to canned hunting, and who are farming lions to export their bones.

But Andre Mentz, a captive lion breeder, in an affidavit submitted to court this week for the predator association to be allowed to join the proceedings, said they were in fact helping to conserve these big cats.

He said there were no longer enough tigers left in the world to meet this demand and the focus had now shifted to the lions in South Africa.

Picture: SHAYNE ROBINSON FODDER: Lions cubs reared in captive breeding facilities often become fodder for canned lion hunts, and ultimately fuel the trade in lion bones.