Circulated from Pete Fick through the Safari Operators Association this morning:

"Hi All

The BVC (Bubye Valley Conservancy)urgently requires any feedback from any areas in Africa that may consider lion translocations from us.
Our government has assured us that it will not be a problem getting these movement permits.
Any interested parties please state area, size, prey species, fenced or not, number of lions required + sexes, has any research/surveys taken place in such area and if there could possibly be conflict with local communities and if so how would the issue be resolved etc. etc.

I personally know of various areas in Zimbabwe and Mozambique that would have taken lions but due to the present ban they are no longer interested – if this is the case with you, please state so + your reasons behind this.

Once we have everybody `s feedback Byron Du Preez (the BVC lion researcher) will write a report to USFWS.
Please pass this email on to everyone that you can think of around Africa that may be interested, thanks and please remember this is URGENT.

Sally/Emmie – please forward same to all our members + to other African countries associations, thanks.
Replies to go to Byron Du Preez ( byron.d.dupreez@gmail.com) and copied Blondie Leathem ( mazunga@mazsaf.com ).

Translocations are not as simple as it may seem and various criteria has to be met first + possible quarantine for cross border translocations.

Regards
Pete

My advise is to contact some of the big players such as Africa Parks and The Nature Conservancy who are both very active here in Africa.

AP may want some to repopulate the Luiwa Plains in west Zambezi?

There are many areas in Zambia that could hold these Lions.

I will forward this to one of the AP researchers.

Andrew

probably not appropriate to write requesting a small pride for upstate NY to get our breeding program going in the Adirondacks since my chances of going to Africa aren't great, so maybe we could be the northern Texas.

I will do my best to import some lion lovers from across the US to stand guard over the lions day/night to keep the lions well safe, well fed with GMO Free Organic Hippies.


on a serious note, it will be interesting to see how this plays out, one article was saying how Bubye was just for hunting, which if the case an excess of 200 lions proves that hunting is a very viable game management tool

I haven't seen the article you mention, but it sounds like either poorly researched or some a source with an agenda. The black rhinos (the world's third largest population) give that the lie, but of course the antis will want to focus on the hunting aspect (which pays for the rhino conservation) to avoid having to contribute anything. Bubye started out with 14 lions, so there is one inescapable conclusion.

it was 100% a source with an agenda, so one that you & I know is purely B.S. but the average person will look and say "lion aid" that must be a credible source they want to help lions, PETA must be a good source they want to help make sure animals are treated well ect....

Wow! A somewhat "fair and balanced" change.org petition initiated by a Ms. Betty Hogan from South Dakota. Perhaps she should petition a few of the anti-hunting NGO's including, but not limited to, LionAid, Born Free, Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, Derick and Beverly Joubert Cat Conservation, etc. demanding that they step up and assist with the re-homing of the surplus lion. I humbly take exception to her comment "African lions are a hot-button cause right now, and animal activists everywhere would jump at the chance to raise money to support the re-homing of Bubye’s lions." Although most of the anti-hunting NGO's are aware of the surplus lion, they sure ain't jumping very high! IMO

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Stop the Culling of 200 Lions

In the country where Cecil was killed, a threat of far greater proportions now looms over the lion population. One of Zimbabwe's largest and successful wildlife reserves, the Bubye Valley Conservancy, recently announced that its population of 500 lions is unsustainable, and their numbers must be reduced by at least 200.

Some are calling this the “Cecil effect,” blaming this overpopulation on the fact that trophy hunters have been scared off after the uproar over Cecil’s death. This is utterly absurd and plain arrogant -- wild animals have never needed human hunters to regulate their numbers. Still, though Bubye’s managers say they would prefer a non-lethal solution, there is a very real possibility that these lions could be killed. We must make sure this doesn’t happen.

Please join me in calling on Bubye general manager Blondie Leathem and the Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Authority to ensure that these lions will not be killed. Please ask them to commit to the rehoming of the 200 Bubye lions in question.

The past twenty years have seen a 43% decline in the world’s lion population. There are now only 20,000 lions left in Africa, from a high of 200,000 100 years ago. And conservationists fear that their numbers could halve again in the next twenty years because of human-animal conflict and reduced habitat and food supplies. Bubye is one of the great success stories for lion conservation. The world is watching them, and they must act responsibly to preserve the lives of their lions.

African lions are a hot-button cause right now, and animal activists everywhere would jump at the chance to raise money to support the rehoming of Bubye’s lions. But Bubye and the Zimbabwean government must commit to keeping them alive until a viable alternative can be found and funded.

Please join me in urging the Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Authority to commit to keeping the lions of Bubye alive.
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