South Africa: Export of 800 Lion Skeletons Per Year

Ministry of the Environment approves the export of bones from 800 animals per year.

South Africa's Ministry of the Environment has approved the export of skeletons from 800 lions per year – putting wild big cats at risk. Lion bones are used in Traditional Asian Medicine as a substitute for tiger bones, which are banned from trade.

Animal welfare advocates see the growing trade in body parts as a threat to Africa's severely depleted lion populations.

Poaching Is Being Fuelled

The lions are allegedly sourced from breeding farms, but oversight is difficult: «The Ministry of the Environment's justification that this trade serves species conservation is cynical. Bones from captive-bred tigers, for example, have long been banned from trade – precisely because such trade fuels the illegal market. We fear that bones from poached animals will be smuggled into this lucrative trade. In practice, it is nearly impossible to trace the origin of the bones being traded. The trade quota opens the door wide to poaching of lions, but also of tigers and leopards,» explains Daniela Freyer of Pro Wildlife. «Time and again, poached lions are found in national parks and enclosures with their bones removed or body parts missing.»

Lion Populations Halved

Lion populations in Africa have been decimated by almost half over the last 21 years, to fewer than 20’000 animals. In West and Central Africa they are threatened with extinction, and in up to 16 countries the king of the animals has already been wiped out. At the same time, international trade in lion bones, skins, and trophies has exploded since 2007. The main export markets for skeletal parts are Laos, Vietnam, China, and Thailand.

«The lion bones are said to come from South Africa’s controversial lion farms, where between 6’000 and 8’000 lions are kept. As cubs, they are exploited as tourist attractions. They ultimately end up as hunting trophies and suppliers of bones for supposed miracle cures in Asian medicine. The export quota for skeletons of 800 lions that has now been set not only endangers the last wild lions. It also amounts to a free pass for the business of canned hunting of captive-bred lions. And it fuels demand for body parts from endangered species for supposed miracle remedies,» said Freyer. «In the past, the South African government wanted to ban so-called ‘canned hunting’ — now it is legitimising and encouraging it.»

Background

Lions are listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List. They are protected internationally under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). However, commercial trade is possible if the exporting country grants a permit confirming that the trade is legal and “sustainable.” At the CITES Conference on International Trade in Endangered Species in Johannesburg in October 2016, numerous African countries advocated for a ban on the trade in lions and their body parts. They were defeated by opposition from South Africa, but also from the EU. Instead, the conference established an export ban on skeletal parts — but only for wild-caught lions. South Africa was given the option of setting an export quota for lions from breeding farms — however, studies on the lion trade as well as population surveys were simultaneously required. These have not yet been carried out, and results from South Africa are not expected for another three years. Despite the lack of a scientific basis and massive objections from animal and nature conservation organisations, the South African government has now legitimised the controversial trade in bones from 800 lions per year. The Recreational Hunting and Biodiversity are in direct contradiction here.