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Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH)

61 canned lions auctioned in SA

2/22/2016

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​Canned Lions - Fear and Loathing in the Free State capital.
 
Since the Walter Palmer hunting debacle in Zimbabwe last year (the controversial and unethical killing of Cecil the lion) and the world-wide screening of the documentary Blood Lions, the  lion trophy hunting industry has found itself under fire from an increasingly  
environmentally aware public.
 
With wild lion populations showing signs of acute decline across the African continent, South Africa’s burgeoning captive-raised lion industry stands alone as the top contender for the 'con' in conservation award.
 
Many criticise trophy hunting industry stake-holders for their brutal cruelty towards the species.  Available export details and investigative analysis by Karl Ammann and others shows South Africa’s predator industry is also actively involved in promoting and supplying lion and tiger body parts and bones to the Asian market, as well as perpetuating a demand for the killing of wild lions, whether legally or illegally.
 
Some hunting record books no longer recognise canned or captive raised lions as record-setting trophies, so fame and glory seekers like infamous US dentist Walter Palmer seek out the biggest and the strongest wild  lions as the “ultimate” trophy in their quest to satisfy their egos.
 
When US Fish & Wildlife Service announced that as of January 22 2016, all American trophy hunters would have to file additional permits before they could import their trophies from Africa, many conservationists (mistakenly) believed that lion hunts would be reduced.
 
So when a Free State lion-breeding operation put 61 captive-bred lions on a catalogue auction this month, it made wildlife industry headlines. It was to be a massive lion sale, even by South African lion industry standards.
 
Advertised by South Africa’s biggest wildlife-game auctioneer, Vleissentraal, the auction was held last Wednesday at the Olivia Private Game Reserve near Bloemfontein, and saw 61 lions and two leopards go under the hammer.
 
Olivia markets itself as the ideal N1 stopover, weekend getaway, wedding venue, and team-building conference location for that perfect corporate or private function.
 
However, closer inspection revealed the dark underbelly of the happy pleasure resort. Olivia runs breeding programs for White Lion, White Bengal Tiger as well as Black Leopard.
 
One potential buyer who asked not to be named, told us he previewed some of the animals before the auction kicked into gear, but decided at the last minute not to risk buying. 
“As a breeder, I felt I would rather wait, and if necessary, even spend R10 000 more for animals with parentage I could verify. In this game, the cardinal rule is buyer beware”.
 
“Some of the lions we were shown appeared to have physical defects, genetically speaking," he added, "and there was no way of checking the lineage of the stock. The terms and conditions set out by the auction house were loaded in the sellers’ favour.”

(Judge for yourself by looking at this two-minute undercover video taken at the sale. Check out the strange short-legged one-eyed tiger, typical result of reckless inbreeding): 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOtsvF2iQOY
 
Asked to describe the setting, he described the lion enclosures as ten to fifteen hectares of electrified high-fencing with hardly a tree in sight for shade from the scorching African sun.
 
With nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide, it sounded like battery lion-breeding on an industrial scale. Hundreds of lions, both white and tawny, some with red skin-tones and sought after black manes.
 
Despite the large reported attendance, our sources confirm most of the lions sold on site were bought by only a handful of buyers, including a couple of invisible telephone buyers.
 
While the bidding was brisk, most final offers only just met minimum reserve prices, and some experts believe that the average prices fetched at the auction were indicative of inferior genetics and possible in-breeding.
 
By the time the hammer fell on two leopards at SAR58,000 each, the last lot of the day, just over R2 million had changed hands.
 
Notable amongst those reportedly rubbing shoulders at the auction, were: 
Kobus Van der Westhuizen of Letsatsi La Afrika, a controversial predator trader and lion-bone exporter, 
 
Casper van der Merwe of Paemenons Safaris, a North West lion hunting-outfitter
 
Bethlehem lion breeder and trader Maryn Prinsloo,
 
Marius Prinsloo, her former lion-farmer husband ,who arrived separately. 
 
Free State game-breeder and hunting outfitter, Marnus Steyl, who was charged for his role in the Chumlong Lemtongthai pseudo-rhino-hunting scam in North West Province.


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15 year old champion for lions

2/20/2016

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Those wonderful Australians again.
CACH received a substantial donation this week of SAR 25,000. from an Australian donor. That is significant in itself, but what makes this donation so exciting is that the funds were raised by a 15 year old.

Meet Edward Bourke, who founded his very own registered Foundation last year - when he was 14 years old. See www.savingthelion.org

Edward writes:
"I was 14 when I started Saving The Lion Foundation (I am now 15), because I saw a huge lack in public awareness, around the plight of the lion in the wild, and in captivity, for example, bad zoos such as Lujan Zoo in Argentina, and Dehiwala Zoo in Sri Lanka. We have been very lucky to have such amazing support from the public, which has helped us become one of the worlds leading organisations, for raising awareness around the plight of the lion in the wild, and in captivity.

In the last year, I have also met with Greg Hunt MP (Australian Federal Minister for the Environment), and Jason Wood MP (Federal Member for La Trobe), who are helping us work against the Lion Bone trade, which has become very popular in China, with the advent of a crackdown on tiger bone. Both Minister Hunt and Mr. Wood, have become Ambassadors for our foundation, and are amazing conservationists.

​I have learned so much since becoming involved with conservation, and animal welfare, and I have had the pleasure of working with amazing people. Fighting for the lion is something that I love, and something I will always do."
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Buying an animal is not a rescue

2/16/2016

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Photo above is the latest pic of George, the rescued Spanish lion cub.

​There is a lot of buying of lions taking place under the banner of rescue.  Often as not, the begging bowls then come out, and animal lovers are subjected to moral blackmail, in the form of: 'donate to us or we'll have to put them down.'

Campaign Against Canned Hunting will not be part of any such undesirable practices. Recall that CJ and Luis went the extra mile to get the Spanish authority SEPRONA to confiscate the two street cubs, before we all brought them out to Kevin's sanctuary as Yame and George.  

CACH has its own wildlife rescue centre, Karoo WC, and this is the Animal Acquisition Policy which governs it:

3.2.      Animal acquisition policy
 
No AWC sanctuary shall, without compelling reason, purchase or give any kind of consideration, whether directly or indirectly  (e.g. swopping of animals, acceptance of services etc) in the process of  acquiring any animal.
 
Ideally, no AWC sanctuary would purchase or provide compensation as a condition of acquiring any animal. All animals in an AWC sanctuary should have been confiscated by relevant authorities, surrendered or donated by the person/s holding the animals. AWC members agree to make every effort to educate such person/s in a positive and interactive way, not to take animals out of their natural environment.
However, circumstances alter cases, and it may sometimes be necessary for a sanctuarian to purchase animals, to save their lives or to remove them from intolerable conditions.   Animals are often purchased from intolerable circumstances.  eg chained monkeys.  Even the internationally respected Animals Asia Foundation has had to rescue hundreds of Chinese Moon bears by purchase.
When doing so the sanctuary should bear in mind that by doing so it is promoting the keeping of animals in captivity, and that it should try to strike a balance between the welfare of the particular animal and the broader interest of animal protection.   Care must be taken that sanctuaries do not create a market place for the trade in indigenous wildlife.  Working with Police, NSPCA and conservation authorities to remove an animal from poor conditions to a reputable AWC sanctuary without payment is a better option.

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Senators, strategies and solutions

2/14/2016

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By US CACH representative Dr Ian Giles.

​The United States needs our help.  Most Americans do not understand the value of wildlife. So:
  • Help fix the disastrous wildlife situation globally by providing solutions to broken systems in the US and abroad.
  • Hang out with and empower US Senators who care.
  • Gain access to relevant global information as it happens.
  • Design and implement systematic solutions that work.
  • Get this done in 2016.
 We have two Facebook Groups that interface with many other groups globally, and there is a lot going on.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/477963462387104/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/915223568557792/
Both groups recently passed the 2000 member mark and are very active.
There is a huge amount of education required, and who better to do it than us?
So please join us if you are not already active.
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George and Yame Update Feb 2016

2/9/2016

3 Comments

 
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Jade, the carer at Kevin Richardson's Sanctuary, writes:

I thought I’d just send through a few photos of George and Yame for everyone to see how big and beautiful they are now. As I'm sure you know, they will be turning 2 in April, and are really starting to look like big lions.

Their manes are coming in nicely (even George has a beautiful mane, though not as big as his brothers just yet). George is also still doing VERY well on his current supplement regime, and will be heading off to the vet again in March for his follow-up x-rays to determine the changes in bone growth and density.

They still enjoy their weekly outings into the reserve, and Yame, in the wetter weather has taken to puddle jumping to pass the time. No matter how small it is, he simply can’t resist. He then proceeds to jump all over George or us, covering us in mud from head to toe.

They have spent the last 2 months at the main sanctuary with our big lions, and have since started to attempt to roar. It’s really sweet, and soft, but Im sure they’ll have found their voices in no time.

Other than that things are pretty much the same, and they have settled into the sanctuary very well. The boys are used to their routine, and are thriving. I will write again soon with any other news on the boys.
​Pictures courtesy of Briana Overacker.
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