By Mike Cadman

The government's proposed clampdown on the captive raising of predators for the hunting industry could result in an unexpected animal welfare crisis if breeders are forced to relinquish their animals.

There are an estimated 2 500 to 3 000 lions, 500 cheetahs and smaller numbers of other predators, including tigers, in at least 110 captive breeding facilities, the bulk of which are in Limpopo, North West and Free State.

Animal welfare groups have said that, while the proposed National Norms and Standards for the Regulation of the Hunting Industry and Threatened and Protected Species Regulations published last week are intended to save predators from canned hunting, they could ironically result in authorities having to euthanase hundreds, or even thousands, of animals that are at present at breeding farms.

"There are simply not enough sanctuaries to handle the large numbers of predators which may have to be taken from these places," Jason Leask-Bell, the director the International Fund for Animal Welfare South Africa, said this week.

"The government needs to clean up the mess they have allowed to develop, but if euthanasia is to be considered it must be done humanely.

"The industry must be closed down but it has been allowed to grow to such a size we now have another animal welfare issue to deal with."

Existing wildlife rehabilitation centres are unable to handle more than a handful of animals. There are also few examples of hand-raised predators being successfully released into the wild and most large wildlife areas in South Africa have reached their carrying capacity for lions and other predators.

The African Lion Working Group estimated that in 2002 there were about 2 800 free-ranging lions in South Africa. More than 2 000 of these are in the Kruger National Park and its neighbouring private game reserves.

The regulations published last week by Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the minister of environmental affairs and tourism, have been generally welcomed as a positive step towards tightening up hunting regulations.

"The days of captive breeding of listed species for any purposes except science and conservation are over," Van Schalkwyk said of the regulations.

Many captive breeding operations supply animals to the "canned" hunting industry. Canned hunting entails the shooting of selected hand-raised trophy animals in relatively small areas where they have no chance of escape.

The enforcement of hunting regulations has been notoriously shoddy and inconsistent in some provinces, but Van Schalkwyk has recently strengthened the inspectorate division of the department of environmental affairs and tourism in an attempt to improve the situation.

Although welcoming steps to end canned hunting, Louise Joubert of the SanWild Wildlife Sanctuary in Limpopo said that environmental affairs officials had no way to deal with the large numbers of predators that would most likely be confiscated if the proposed regulations became law.

"It's a looming animal welfare disaster," she said this week. "If the government is really serious about taking these animals out of the system and shutting down the canned hunting industry, I can't see how they can handle all these animals - there is no space for them.

There are no animal rehabilitation centres run by provincial or central government in South Africa and only a few of the privately owned operations have any expertise dealing with lions.

"I had one breeder who called and said that if the regulations forced him to close down his operation he would dump 80 lions between the ages of a month and a year at my gate," Joubert said. "I'm not sure if he was joking but it shows just how big the problem is."

Dr Pieter Botha, director of biodiversity at the environmental affairs department, said: "We encourage the public to contribute to the process, which is open for comment until June.

"We would like suggestions as to how the issue could be handled we are eager to consult as widely as possible."

Dr Nick King, the director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, said: "The first aim is to stop breeding of predators for hunting.

"It may be possible to place some of the animal at sanctuaries or zoos but euthanasia should be considered only as a last resort."

According to the environmental affairs department, 209 lions were legally hunted in 2004. A lion with a large dark mane can fetch R180 000. South Africa is Africa's second largest lion-hunting destination after Tanzania.



This article was originally published on page 1 of Sunday Independent on May 14, 2006

Replace the canned lions with canned tigers of races that are facing extinction. Call it tiger ranching instead of hunting. And then you will have a more effective and reliable tiger conservation program than India's National Park system.

VBR,

Ted Gorsline

quote:

Dr Nick King, the director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, said: "The first aim is to stop breeding of predators for hunting.

Anybody want to guess what the second and third aims are?????

Canned lion hunting is not sporting, but up until now, it has been legal. It is a divisive issue groups like this use to get in the door and then try and shut down ALL hunting. The battle in South Africa is just starting!

Raising predators like lions to release to shoot isn't hunting at all but then neither is raising pheasants to shoot nor scimiter horned orxy and addax to shoot on ranches in Texas.

To go further the fact is zoos are nothing more than animal prisons and humane societies are nothing but pet butcheries designed to kill off suplus populations of cats and dogs.

But because of Texas game ranches if the Sahara is ever again safe for restocking oryx and addax back into their original range there is a big population of them in Texas to draw upon.

I am not even opposed to nutters raising tigers in their apartments in New York City as long as they don't interfere with anyone else.

I am glad to hear there are 10,000 tigers in captivity in the USA because there are only about 4,000 an declining in their Indian homelands and bureaucrats and wildife researchers cannot be counted on to save anything.

And that is especially true in the third world where the leadership can hardly be counted on to tie up their own shoe laces without screwing up the job.

Even in the west our best institutions can't be counted on. For example, Canada's very best educated fisheries biologists were impotent when it came time to save the Atlantic codw which is now commercially extinct.

These do-gooders running around trying to ban everything have a mail order business going based on making a deal with the tabloid press.

They seem to suck their money out of rich urban women. Bored housewives with nothing better to do. Women who are all teeth and hair and no brains.

Their partners in crime, tabloid press itself is nothing more than the modern version of the old freak show at the circus. Same set of charactes - fat ladies - wolf men you name it.

Its a good idea to keep these large predators around one way or another until the world has finished going to hell. I would never shoot a captive lion. I think the people who do it are assholes. But in this day and age I am willing to turn a blind eye until some better solution to maintaining their gentic diversity comes along.

VBR,


Ted Gorsline

[Ted Gorsline said:
quote]Its a good idea to keep these large predators around one way or another until the world has finished going to hell. I would never shoot a captive lion. I think the people who do it are assholes. But in this day and age I am willing to turn a blind eye until some better solution to maintaining their gentic diversity comes along.[/quote]

Very well said. I'm also willing to turn a blind eye, as long as I do not need to be involved any any lion hunting!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren.

How about releasing them in the large city parks of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc., etc.? Reading this after typing it, I realize that I'm not even half-joking.
Hmmmmm.

Right on Prof. Don't leave out others cities like Las Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco, Houston. . . .

I agree with all the above comments.
It's the first step. The next one will probably be to stop killing animals with a sharp stick. (Bowhunting)
Here's the way I look at it. It ain't none of my damn business how you hunt. It ain't none of your damn business how I hunt.
If you want to beat one to death with a rock while it is in a squeeze chute, go for it. I don't like it, and don't agree with it, but it ain't none of my business.
If I want to shoot a Dik-Dik with a .50 BMG, I will. It ain't none of your business.
Animals are raised to be killed all over the world. How they are killed is not material.
I eat chickens, hogs, cows, etc. which were raised for the sole purpose of being killed all the time. No different than a canned Lion hunt.
The bunny huggers will divide and conquer.
I flinch every time I see PHASA, Outfitters, Agents and PHs condemning Canned hunting.
Guess what guys, "You" may be next!
By the way, I wouldn't get off my fat butt to shoot a canned lion.
I like the one about the lion farmer turning them loose at the gate.

South Africa, out side of the national parks is one of the few conservation success stories in Africa. It is because many years ago ( I think the 50's) the late Norman Deane, who was a rhino warden at Hlue Hlue Park hit upon the idea of putting a trophy fee on wild animals on private land.

At the time game was worthless and the money was in cattle, sheep and goats. But as soon as people made more money from game so they grew more game and grew less domestic livestock.

Where there was no game there is now more game than there is in the national parks.

The side effect was fences. Animals have feet and if you raise a gemsbok and it wanders off your property and if your neighbour shoots it and makes money from it, its not worth raising.

The fences are there to preserve the investment.

But I hear people like Conraad Vermaak are now pulling fences down in some areas. Just how this works I don't know but it is the next step and a good idea.

What's currently going on in South Africa is no different than the game keeper at Queen Elizabeth's Balmoral Castle raising pheasants to shoot. Pheasants cannot survive in Scotland without artifical feeding and its the feeding instead of the fences that keep the birds on the property.


VBR,



Ted Gorsline



VBR,


Ted Gorsline

I don't think this debate will ever end.

A very well known person said to me that although he is personally against canned hunting it might serve a good purpose. Their is a huge demand for big cats and by "hunting" a pen raised cat it takes the pressure of the wild population. But be honest about what will be hunted.

The end of the day every hunter decides his own way of hunting. I cannot tell a client you may not hunt this way or that way. Yes, I must make sure that whatever he does is legal. Each of us have his own ideas of ethical hunting and we must each live with our conscience.

I personally won't hunt a pen raised cat or a cat at a bait, but that is my choice which differs from a lot of other hunters. Who am I to critisize other peoples way of hunting. If your actions affects my life, then I can take you on, otherwise live and let live. We are all different, lets respect other peoples views.

Interesting what you say Jaco,
years ago I worked under one of SA's top predator specialists/ecologists, who was also working with Craig Packer. This was 1997 when the Cooke Report broke and canned lions were thrust into the daily vocab of citzens.

This guy, whose life was lions pretty much, was very pragmatic about it. He called them 'cows with claws', which pissed people off! He felt that it was never a CONSERVATION issue and in fact was better for wild populations in RSA. It certainly is an 'ethics' and sportmanship issue, though.

He felt that if someone wants to shoot a captive, farmed lion, in a tennis court, so be it, its not his problem or choice.

This is very true BUT I guess there are many non-quantifiable issues and emotions involved - hence we cannot demand a pragmatic response for everyone.

I, like you, am also anti-canned lions but thats my personal feeling. I couldn't care less if someone want to shoot canned lion (from a conservation/management point of view) but do find it very distasteful (personally) and no matter how we view it, it is damaging SA's hunting and wildlife reputation and I for one would put a stop to it as this will have better long term benefit for sure.

As you say, this issue will not be put to sleep for while yet!

Of course none of us condone true "canned hunts" be they for lion or any other specie. The fact that these operations do bring considerable money into the country cannot be ignored though. So with this in mind let me get this straight, thousands of animals that WOULD HAVE created ecconomic bliss are now going to be killed at an expense? Seems there is another option somewhere in between that begs to be explored!

No matter what happens, hunting and hunters will be blamed. You shoot the damned lions and it's canned hunting. You don't shoot the damned lions and it's hunting's and the hunter's fault because they created the demand and now they have to be disposed of humanely (and that doesn't include subsequently hunting them because that would be more canned hunting). It also doesn't matter that there's more lions because of the breeding programs or that wild lions have been spared from being hunted and shot. Although, if you shoot a wild lion that's well known like was recently done in South Africa, then there's hell to pay there too. This debate will NEVER end until there is no more hunting period. The anti's will not give up.

Dear Use Enough Gun,

The problems hunters face is they always defend themselves. They let the antis and the media define the issues, do the attacking and then hunters end up defending. It doesn't work because you end up addresssing their agenda. You don't win wars by being on the defensive.

What does work is to attack. This is what the NRA does and this is why the NRA is the only successful hunting and shooting organization in the world.

Mostly they are sucessful because they have the numbers and in a democracy only numbers count.
SCI for example has a very small membership. But you get the numbers by winning. People don't follow losers. They follow winners and that is why they follow the NRA.

The downfall of the NRA has been predicted at least 1,000 times but it has never happened. They attack their enemies and they are successful.

I strongly suggest the leaders of all the hunting and shooting groups in the world cough up the money for airline tickets and send their best leaadership to Washington to meet with the NRA and to learn how to play hard ball. Before you go you will have to be able to explain how your political system works. I did it years ago and they were very helpful.

They don't want to control you. You can remain as a big frog in a little pond if you wish. They just want like minded people to win their battles.

The antis are rich but they are not strong. They are mostly fascists, weaklings, charlatans, invariably pathological liars and they are cowards. They piss away fortunes on their own personal salaries. They have not the slightest interest in the welfare of animals. They know next to nothing about wild life in nature. Their leaders tend to be zoo keepers or what you might call animal prison wardens.

If you attack them they can't stand it. They squeal like stuck pigs.



VBR,


Ted Gorsline

TED

WELL SAID

Agreed Ted, and that is one reason why I am a LIFE member of the NRA, among others. Just think of the STRENGTH if the NRA, SCI, RMEF, DU, Rocky Mountain Mule Deer Foundation, Pheasants Forever, etc. etc. etc. and others did as you suggested.

As hunters we will have to keep on fighting to retain our right to hunt.

One of the biggest problems is urbanisation. People living in cities lost their bond with nature and does not understand the circle of life. They buy meat at the local SPAR shop in a packet and their milk in a container. They do not really understand where it comes from.

It is acceptable for most of them ( except the heavy vegetarions - read greenies) that domesticated animals are slaughtered for meat. Unfortuneately wild animals are placed on a sacred platform above domesticated animals. Wildlife films that portrays animals with human like charactiristics also does not help much in our fight for acceptance of our sport. Discovery, National Geografics, Animal planet , Disney and many others are to be blamed for this.

Urban people totally lost touch with nature and they believe all the BS they see on TV

A very sad case but the truth.

Very true, Jaco, very true. When I served in a church leadership position in our local congregation, we used to take our group of young people in our church to a ranch twice a year on retreat so they could begin to understand the connection between the land and human beings. Seemed to work as you could see changes in their behavior and attitudes. Of course, shooting .22 rifles, 20 ga shotguns and fishing was all of part of it as well and that also helped us fight any anti-gun sentiments for the most part. I would suggest that anyone in a position to do that with young people, do so. You'd be surprised at the results.

They complain about the lack of resources...
yet, the only solution they can think of, is killing off these valuable animals by uthenasia? Who will benefit from this? The Lions???
Let's suggest they burn all their Ivory stocks,
close down all profit making national parks, ban the exportation of animal products, and leave conservation to those people who seem to think that everything is for free...

LS,
Please don't suggest it to them, They might eveen do it. They do not think rational anymore.

Does anybody know of a brain anti-virus for politicians, I think they are all infected