Fans of blockbuster The Lion King have been urged not to visit big cat breeding centres in South Africa because they are unwittingly helping the species get ‘traded into extinction’.

Tourists who cuddle young animals or go on walking tours with them are fuelling the barbaric but legal activity of ‘canned hunting’, in which an animal is confined to a fenced area and shot at by trophy hunters.

Conservationists said visitors are often ‘duped’ into thinking the young cubs have been orphaned and will one day be released into the wild.

But they will actually be ‘exploited’ for photograph opportunities and eventually end up being hunted.

The International Aid for the Protection and Welfare of Animals’ Beth Jennings said: ‘The Lion King is an amazing film.

‘But one of the first things when I saw the remake was that Simba was so lifelike.

‘It will be absolutely terrible if people go online and try to find out how they can meet a lion cub.

‘In the way that we are now talking about not riding elephants or the problem with captive animals at SeaWorld, we need to talk about not cuddling lions.

‘Any human interaction is not beneficial to them and is only fuelling the canned hunting trade, which will be the downfall of the species.

‘It’s not worth that to get your photo for Instagram.’

The number of captive lions in South Africa is about three times that of the ones roaming free in nature reserves and national parks.

Experts say there are currently between 8,000 and 12,000 lions in some 300 breeding facilities across South Africa.

International wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation said cubs are removed from their mothers within weeks of birth.

The lions are hand-reared and used for photo opportunities while the older ones are used for tourism activities such as ‘walking with lions’.

After a few years they will be shot in the canned hunting trade and their bones sent, legally, to East Asia where they will be used in medicines.

Campaigners insist any true conservation project will not allow any interaction with wildlife.

Beth started to raise awareness of lion breeding centres after volunteering in one during a gap year.

She paid £1,500 for two weeks but questioned the conditions the cubs were kept in and the real purpose of her work.

The activist said the young cubs were locked in an extremely cramped cage overnight in sweltering conditions without water.

She said they were hit if they ‘misbehaved’ and passed around for photographs and cuddles with tourists when they should have been asleep.

However, she added that in general they were treated ‘fairly well’ because they had to look good in photos – or as a trophy.

She added: ‘I have no doubt that the lions I raised are now dead.

‘They are not roaming free in the wild. They are a trophy on someone’s wall and their skeletons will have ended up in the bone trade.’

Beth continued: ‘A lot of people don’t want to believe this is happening, especially if they have already volunteered.

‘It’s a case of ignorance is bliss. People want to believe they have experienced something magical or made a contribution to conservation. But sadly, they haven’t.

‘There is no way 8,000 lions have either been orphaned or released into the wild.’

Head of policy at Born Free, Mark Jones, said: ‘Visitors will go to these breeding centres and get cute photo opportunities with the cubs.

‘Volunteers will be told they are rearing an orphaned cub that is destined to be returned to the wild.

‘But it serves no conservation purpose at all.’

He added: ‘This is all about cash before conservation and it is a really cruel industry.’

The lion is listed as globally vulnerable to extinction but the South African government has been accused of ‘actively encouraging’ canned hunting and the bone trade.

Campaigners have also called on the UK government to ban permits being issued that allows UK visitors to bring home ‘trophies’ from hunting.

Mark concluded: ‘Ultimately, stopping it will come down to public pressure public opinion.

‘We like to think that that one day soon this activity will be consigned to history because wildlife is in real trouble.’

Source: Read Full Article