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South Africa selling tiger and lion hunts to Chinese nouveau riche

South Africa selling tiger and lion hunts to Chinese nouveau riche, Buzz travel | eTurboNews |Travel News editor June 25, 2019 08:34





Tigers, leopards, lions, elephants and rhinos were among the many species of wild animals on offer by South African hunting outfitters at the first-ever Chinese hunting show in Shanghai last weekend.

Critically endangered tigers, considered to be ‘functionally extinct’ in China, are now offered by several South African hunting businesses.

Since tigers are primarily defined as an exotic species in South Africa, the captive breeding, trading and hunting of this CITES Appendix I species is unregulated, with an estimated 60 mostly unlicensed tiger breeders, including several backyard breeders in Gauteng.

Inkulu African Safaris in the Eastern Cape advertised black rhino hunt for between Euro 500,000 and one million at the China Hunting Show, Imberba Rakia in Limpopo offered tiger hunts (prices on request only), and Clayton Fletcher from Tinashe had a 7-day ‘cat in the bag’ hunting package, including lion, oryx, blue wildebeest, zebra, springbok, and warthog, for US$22,000.



Firearm ownership in China is heavily regulated making it nearly impossible for individuals to possess a rifle and legal hunting grounds are limited, so the burgeoning elite with little shooting experience travel abroad to indulge in their new-found hobby.

Lack of hunting expertise does not seem to be as an issue for the South African hunting outfitters represented at the show over the weekend. Fletcher of Tinashe Outfitters for example guarantees to make any Chinese hunter competent to shoot within a 2-day period.

The booming Chinese economy has created an extensive, affluent middle-class of 400 million people with a third already travelling outside China, according to the China Hunting Show website.

In search of new markets, South African hunting businesses now offer a myriad of African wildlife to these nouveau riche Chinese citizens and lions are still one of the top choices.



As South Africa only issues about a dozen wild lion permits per year, the tawny and white lions adorning the exhibition brochures are most likely captive bred.

“Don’t let the wide, open space of these game farms fool you”, says Smaragda Louw (Ban Animal Trading South Africa), who visited the show. “These lions are not hunted in the wild, but in an enclosed area with no escape.”

Tinashe Outfitters located in the NW province for instance can legally offer hunting of a captive bred lion a mere four days after its release from captivity. The shortest release time in any province in South Africa with no restrictions on the minimum camp size.

Are these would-be hunters aware that most of these lions will be captive bred and habituated to humans through unscrupulous activities, such as cub petting?

As expected, many visitors attending the China Hunting Show over the weekend were completely unfamiliar with the concept of trophy hunting, let alone “canned” hunting. However, “by the end of the day, cash was changing hands as first-time hunters began planning their first overseas hunting trips”, stated show officials on social media.

https://www.fieldsportschannel...aunches-with-a-bang/



Numerous photos and article from the show in link.

Who would have ever imagined the Chinese are going to save the lions and tigers??

Don’t laugh, if they pay for them, they will continue to be bred!

And before some start screaming their heads off. What is the difference between this a cattle farming?

I have no wish to shoot farmed animals, but others do. And it is their choice!

I saw an animal planet tv show sometime back where they were seeing if captive tigers could be released into high fenced areas and learn to kill wild antelope and survive. The captive tigers took to catching and killing prey as if they had never been born in captivity. Supposedly government officials were to allow the cats to be released in the wild if it was proven they could survive. Apparently said officials were surprised by the successful experiment and never followed through with the releases as they were just giving lip service to providing a place for the cats to increase their numbers in the wild. I think it was south africa where this happened.

There was Outfitters from all over the world there. just another hunting show like all the rest why the fuss I don't understand...