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Lions
Environmental conservation organisation, the EMS Foundation, wants government to permanently ban the trade of lion bones in South Africa.
The foundation’s director, Michele Pickover says their study shows that the lion bone sale is linked to the Asian big cat market operated by syndicates without permits.
The foundation will be a friend of the court to oppose the application by the South African Predators Association (SAPA) to force the Environment Department to allow them a quota to trade in lion bones.
SAPA has approached the High Court in Pretoria to force the Department to set a quota to re-open the lion bone sale for this year.
SAPA president, Hannes Wessels has rejected any criminality or inhumane captive and killing of lions. He says their business helps preserve lions from poachers.
“We said it from day one when we worked with the lion task team that every industry has got its bad apples. We presented as SAPA to the department, we are still on a root, we have started a programm now and we got the science, there is a conservation value in what we are doing. We are protecting the lions, and unfortunately, the hunting lion industry is too big, and it can’t be stopped, and they should not tell us that it must be stopped.”
Pickover says government should not have allowed the sale of lion bones in the first place.
“We did a very extensive investigative report on the South African lion bone trade, what it showed you is that while the sale from our side is legal and people have permits on the other side where they are going in Southeast Asia, it is all going to criminal network because it is all linked to tiger bone industry which is banned and it is not benefiting our tourism.”
The Department of Environment had not yet commented by the time of broadcast.
Meanwhile, according to SAPA, if the 10 lion breeders secure a favorable court ruling, each breeder stands to gain approximately R7 million in profit. SAPA says that male lion bones can be sold for R65 000, while female lion bones can fetch R45 000.
