The African lion is an iconic species, making it a major attraction for tourists visiting South Africa’s shores. Their status, however, gives them a high commercial value where they are held in captivity and intensively bred.
A joint inspection on 3 August 2021 on a lion breeding farm in the Free State revealed numerous contraventions in terms of the animal protection act, including 13 lion carcasses in a freezer, the NSPCA reports.
They did not name the farm.
The inspection was conducted by the NSPCA with the environmental manager inspectors from the Department of Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA), revealing the following contraventions of the animal protection act:
- Four lions were found with various physical and/or other health conditions of which no veterinary treatment and care had been procured for the animals;
- Ten lions did not have access to drinking water at all;
- Seventeen lions had access to unhygienic drinking water;
- Several enclosures housing lions were found in an unhygienic state with an accumulation of fresh and calcified faeces as well as decomposing food and bones;
- Several animals did not have access to shelter to protect them from inclement weather conditions;
- Several lions were kept in overcrowded conditions;
- Several lions were infested with external parasites;
- Thirteen lion carcasses were discovered within a locked freezer container. The lion carcasses were stored together with the lion food supply; and
- The freezer container was found in an unhygienic state with blood and old rotten meat on the floor.
The NSPCA noted that there is a reasonable concern to believe that the lion carcasses found did not die from natural causes. Seven of the 13 carcasses were seized from the farm and sent for a full post-mortem analysis.
The contraventions echo the calls to put an end to captive lion breeding, where parliament gazetted a draft policy on 28 June 2021 to put an end to it.
Also read:
SA government to take action against captive lion hunting and breeding
Picture: Blood Lions
