Johannesburg – Parliamentarians were left stunned after attending the screening of a new wildlife documentary, “Lions, Bones and Bullets”.
This included the likes of the IFP’s Narend Singh, the DA’s Dave Bryant as well as members of the National Assembly committee on forestry, fisheries and the environment.
“Lions, Bones and Bullets” premiered at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival in Monaco a year ago and has followed Oscar-winning “My Octopus Teacher” as a winner in the Jackson Wild Media Awards in the Educational and Informational Film category.
Discussions by the film’s distributors are under way for South Africans to see the film.
The documentary is also expected to contribute to the debate about the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s White Paper on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity.
A panel discussion was held following the screening of the film in which the director of Four Paws in South Africa, Fiona Miles and the executive director, Africa for Humane Society International, Tony Gerrans, discussed captive lion breeding and the trade in lion parts.
Four Paws is a global animal welfare organisation which focuses on gradually improving the living conditions of animals under direct human influence, by revealing suffering, rescuing animals in need and protecting them.
Meanwhile, Humane Society International (HSI) works around the globe to promote the human-animal bond and confront cruelty in all its forms.
The feature documentary was completed after nearly three years of investigation and filming in South Africa, Vietnam and Laos.
It tracks the journey of British conservation writer Richard Peirce as he visits lion ranches in South Africa, as well as wildlife markets in Southeast Asia.
“Lions, Bones and Bullets” also features interviews with local lion breeders as well as facilities in which big cats are housed prior to being shot for the trade in lion bones.
This follows in the week after the closing date for nominations to the Lion Task Team that will advise the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy, on how to offer captive lion breeders an exit from the industry.
One of the questions put forward by the parliamentarians at the screening include what effect the closing down of the captive lion breeding Industry will have on unemployment.
Miles explained that the captive breeding industry has long held the view that their contribution to employment is financially significant.
“They want to justify the existence thereof especially in terms of rural and regional economy and the multiplier effect,” she said.
“Research done by an independent wildlife governance researcher, Ross Harvey, in 2018 on the economics of captive predator breeding in South Africa, however, shows that conclusions of studies done on this are questionable.”
She added that Harvey said in the study that supporting captive breeding did not necessarily contribute to job creation that could not otherwise be obtained through more ethical and conservation-enhancing activities.
Miles said around job loss and job creation Four Paws could vouch that a true sanctuary like their Lionsrock Big Cat Sanctuary in the Free State has led to sustainable job creation in the area.
“Lionsrock is very different to a commercial breeding facility, as it does not allow any trade, breeding or interactions between people and animals and instead, it is a place for rescued animals to live out their days in an environment as close to the wild as possible.
“At present, the sanctuary has more than 40 employees and has over the 16 years of its existence launched more than 200 people on their career paths.”
Miles said that these were employees that were trained and developed by “professionals having their best interests at heart”.
She also pointed out that at breeding facilities, it is often an unsafe environment for employees where they must work in an undignified way without being trained.
“Lionrock proves ethically run true sanctuaries can create jobs sustainably, as the policy documents that led to the proposed White Paper on Conservation and Sustainable Use of SA Biodiversity has as a key aim,” she said.
On the question of what will happen to the 8-10 000 lions in captivity if the industry is closed down, Miles said that there needs to be an assessment to ascertain exact population numbers, the welfare of individual lions and the state of the facilities.
“The first step needs to be an immediate ban on captive breeding through sterilisation.”
She said that strict guidelines on breeding, keeping, animal husbandry and welfare also need to be imposed on such facilities, and a definition of a true sanctuary must be addressed in existing legislation.
“The audit will also reveal true sanctuaries from commercial breeding facilities,” Miles said.
“A true sanctuary provides a permanent home for animals and does not buy, sell, breed or trade-in animals or their parts for profit, nor do they allow any human interaction.”