Captive lions mutilated for use in black magic

A SURGE in demand for big cat body parts on South Africa’s black market is endangering the future of the country’s captive lion population, conservationists have warned.

A series of recent attacks on predator parks, where hand-reared big cats are kept overnight in enclosures, has raised fears that the safety of lions in captivity can no longer be guaranteed.

Six lions died over the weekend when pesticide-laced chicken meat is believed to have been thrown into their enclosure at a wildlife park north of Pretoria, the third mass poisoning in three months. A keeper at the Mystic Monkeys and Feathers Wildlife Park discovered the mutilated carcasses of four adult lions and two cubs after a raid in the early hours of Saturday.

The heads and some of the paws of the lions had been cut off and removed, usually an indication that the perpetrators intended to sell the parts to criminal gangs feeding a growing demand for black magic.

“We are so sad to announce that we have lost six lions from poaching,” Christa Saayman, the park’s owner, wrote on Facebook. “Senseless and heartless people have robbed us of these beautiful animals.”

At least 15 lions have been poisoned in parks in South Africa since April, although conservationists believe the number could be considerably higher. The deaths of the 15 lions were all disclosed by their owners, but other proprietors may have kept quiet about similar attacks, conservationists say.

South Africa licenses the slaughter of 800 lions a year at predator farms to feed demand from South-east Asia, where parts are used in traditional medicine. But conservationists believe the poaching attacks feed growing demand from local medicine men who sell parts to clients who believe they will be imbued with leonine strength from the spells and potions they buy.