Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
How SA became the largest exporter of lion bones
The commodification of captive-bred lions in South Africa for their bones has been ongoing since 2008, with the skeletons exported predominantly to South East Asia, says Fiona Miles, director of Four Paws in South Africa. More comprehensive legislation an
Please provide some indication of the size of the lion bone industry in South Africa.
The industry has been allowed to grow unregulated and unchecked for many years. Since 2008, nearly 7 000 lion skeletons weighing 70t have been exported from South Africa to South East Asia for use in Asian traditional medicine practices. The vast majority of exported lion skeletons (98%) are destined for Laos and Vietnam, which are known hubs for illegal wildlife trafficking, including that of South African rhino products and/or derivatives. From there the bones are sold regionally, with China and Vietnam being the biggest consumers.
Since 2017, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has set a legal annual export quota of 800 lion skeletons from the captive lion population, making South Africa the largest legal exporter of lion bones and skeletons. The 2019 quota is still pending from the now Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF).
The setting of this legal lion bone quota lacks a sound scientific basis and is driven solely by the economic principle of supply and demand: South African lion breeders can produce more lion skeletons than the set quota and have built up stockpiles.
How does this compare with the overall size of the lion breeding industry?
The number of lions bred in captivity has increased markedly over the past 20 years. In 2009 there were more than 3 000, according to the South African Predator Breeders’ Association, and by 2015 the DEA estimated that 6 000 lions were held in more than 200 facilities. Today, there are possibly 8 000 to 10 000 lions in more than 300 facilities. If the industry is allowed to grow unchecked, this number could well reach 12 000 to 20 000 predators in the next five years.
As well as lions, breeding facilities in South Africa house between 800 and 1 000 cheetahs, 400 to 500 tigers, and an unknown number of ligers (crossbreed between tiger and lion), leopards, caracal, servals, jaguars and other predators.
So far, no formal and relevant national audit of [legal and illegal] captive breeding and keeping facilities in South Africa has been undertaken.
Are captive lions bred specifically to supply the trade in lion bone or is the bone a by-product of the lion-hunting industry?
Even though the lion bone trade is perceived to be a by-product of the canned hunting industry, a study by the EMS Foundation and Ban Animal Trading of skeleton exports in 2017 found that 91% included the skulls, indicating that many facilities exist purely to supply the South East Asian bone trade.
A recent study commissioned by the Scientific Authority and undertaken by Williams and ‘t Sas-Rolfes found that about one-third of the captive lion facilities in South Africa breed and keep lions purely for the trade of bones and other lion products.
What legislation and/or protocols are in place to regulate this industry in South Africa?
The captive lion breeding industry and substitute lion bone trade has been legitimised through an interpretation of Section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa by the DEFF, referred to as the aggregative approach. This explains the right to “environment” enshrined in Section 24 as the “ecologically sustainable use” of resources. This interpretation has protected, and even promoted, the commodification of wildlife and is utilised to justify abhorrent practices that do not benefit conservation.
There are possibly 8 000 TO 10 000 lions in 300 facilities
South Africa has no national norms and standards for the breeding and keeping of predators in captivity to address animal welfare and/or health concerns, an issue that straddles the mandates of the DEFF and the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform. Existing legislation, such as the Animal Protection Act of 1962 and the Performing Animals Protection Act, are outdated
and were never intended to deal with the welfare of wild animals held in captivity.
Some of the welfare concerns around the captive breeding and keeping of indigenous and exotic predators for commercial exploitation include cruelty, unnatural behaviour, unsuitable conditions, disease, lack of medical care, and distress, as well as a disregard for the animals’ most basic needs such as water, food and shelter.
Inbreeding is also common, which creates offspring with compromised health.
The fact that this industry is legal doesn’t make it ethically, morally or socially acceptable. Both nationally and internationally, the industry is considered unethical even by prestigious international hunting associations and prosustainable use countries.
In the breeding and keeping of lions for the bone trade there is no incentive to keep lions in a healthy condition, when all that is to be used are their skeletons. Earlier this year, the owner of a facility in North West was charged by the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals with animal cruelty. Inspectors found 27 lions with severe mange, two lion cubs unable to walk due to meningoencephalitis, obese caracal unable to groom themselves, overcrowded and filthy enclosures, inadequate shelter, lack of water, and parasitic conditions.
In addition, lion abattoirs have been established to facilitate the mass slaughter of lions to supply skeletons for international trade with no regulations in place, creating a range of welfare concerns.
What has given rise to the growth in demand for lion bones?
Lion bones have never been a recognised ingredient in traditional Chinese medicines, but the demand in Asia for lion bones as an alternative to tiger bones has increased in recent years due to a decline in tiger numbers and a ban on the use of tiger products.
Although tiger body parts have been used in the production of traditional Chinese medicines and tonics for centuries to treat a variety of ailments, including arthritis, rheumatism, back problems, general weakness and headaches, there is no credible evidence for the efficacy of the vast majority of these remedies.
It is often claimed that lions are a renewable resource and that lion breeding and farming actually add to the long-term survival of the species. Do you agree?
Wild lions are classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species and their population has declined by 43% over the last 20 years or so. As few as 20 000 lions might now remain in the wild, occupying only 8% of their historic range.
In South Africa, just over
3 000 wild and managed lions remain largely in fenced reserves. In comparison, our captive lion population is estimated to be 8 000 to 10 000.
The most prolific threats to wild lions are a lack of safe and suitable space as a result of habitat degradation and fragmentation, and human-lion conflict. The captive breeding of lions does not address these threats and is therefore of no conservation value.
In its 2015 Biodiversity Management Plan for lions in South Africa, the then Department of Environmental Affairs recognised that “captive lions are bred exclusively to generate money and currently have limited conservation value”.
In February 2016, the African Lion Working Group issued a statement that “captive- bred lion … [do] not provide any demonstrated positive benefit to wild lion conservation efforts and therefore cannot be claimed to be conservation”.
The statement concluded that while more data was needed, the international lion bone trade being supplied by the South African captive-bred lion industry may fuel an increased demand for wild lion bones elsewhere, thereby negatively affecting wild lion populations.
• Email MJ Lourens, head of communications at Four Paws South Africa, at mj.lourens@four-paws.org.