Lion parts trade a bone of contention for scientist
Legal supplies helping to fuel a demand that ‘could wipe out big cats in wild’
THE trickle in lion parts that South Africa is feeding to Asia for traditional medicine “will become a torrent” that could be a major threat to the future of declining populations, a leading lion scientist has warned.
Dr Luke Hunter is the president of Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organisation whose scientists helped write a new lion assessment report for the Inter national Union for the Conservation of Nature that says fewer than 20 000 lions roam Africa.
“Trade in lion bones and other body parts for traditional medicine, within the region and in Asia, has been identified as a new, emerging threat to the species,” the report says.
Hunter says: “At this stage, we have evidence of only isolated incidents of wild lion bones and parts entering the traditional medicinal trade. It’s clear it’s not yet a major threat to the lion compared with the far more serious issues of poaching of prey and retaliatory killing of lions by herders and ranchers.
“Demand in consumer nations is not decreasing and as the tiger becomes even rarer, it’s likely that demand will increase for replacement species like lions.”
Lion bones – supplied to Asian markets by some South African captive lion breeders – are used as a replacement for tiger bones used in traditional Asian medicine.
Far ming the continent’s apex predator is an “abhorrent” practice, Hunter says.
“I’ve heard many ‘conservation’ arguments for captive breeding of lions, to justify canned hunting and now the bone trade, and they are largely nonsense.
“As a lion scientist, I would be the first to set aside my personal distaste if there was a genuine conservation benefit from the practice, as I have been willing to do on occasion for ‘fair-chase’ trophy hunting.
“There simply isn’t any value to the captive lion industry. It’s a huge shame that South Africa, which is a world leader in wild lion conservation, is also the pioneer of this miserable practice.
“Without an intensive and massive effort to provide concerted protection of wild lion populations, the bone trade will
The number of lions across Africa has fallen by about 42 percent in the past 21 years.
Lions have vanished from at least 12, possibly up to 16, African countries.
In west Africa, the declines suggest lions should be classified as critically endangered. only create more pressure on declining populations.”
Dr Herman Els, of the SA Hunters and Game Conservation Association, disagrees, saying that given the threat facing lion populations elsewhere, “it cannot at this time be excluded that captive bred lions may in the future play a role in lion conservation elsewhere”.
Els calls for a “decent and responsible” trade in “lion products” to supply to booming Asian markets, and says the “ranch lion industry” is reforming itself with “continu- ous care” on lion farms.
“The request for these kinds of products has been there for ages… There is a market and a need for lion body parts and this will grow as the market for ivory and rhino horn is growing.
“A trade in lion bone, if done correctly, won’t have an impact on wild lion populations… By starting a legal trade, we can curtail the black market and improve policing here in Africa.”
Hunter strongly disagrees, saying: “There is no evidence that captive breeding of lions helps to diminish the demand (pressure) on wild lions… Thousands of captive tigers (and some lions) are bred in facilities in Asia for the trade. This has done nothing to quell the pressure on wild tigers.”
Karl Amman, an award-winning wildlife trade investigator, tells the Saturday Star: “Thousands of tigers are bred on miserable farms in Southeast Asia to cash in on the growing demand. Overall prices and pressure on population have not come down.
“That is bound to be the scenario for lions. Their bones are being sold as tiger bones, with the South African authorities saying it is not their problem. In term of costs, their value is 10 percent of that of a tiger skeleton.
“In Asia, fake status symbol substitute products are in wide circulation, including thousands of fake rhino horns. On what basis would anybody say the trade in lion bones is not ‘a new and emerging threat’?”
South Africa, Amman advises, should “get away from its short-sighted money-oriented approach” and accept that the sale of lions bones enriches criminal traffickers.
Chris Mercer, of the Campaign Against Canned Hunting, says: “Promoting the lion bone trade will certainly hasten the extinction of wild lions in southern and east Africa.”
The Born Free Foundation cites international trade statistics that show that from 2009 to 2013, the number of lions and lion parts exported doubled.
“The trade data suggests international trade in lion parts and products is putting pressure on these vulnerable lion populations, which they clearly can’t sustain,” he says.