Born Free Foundation - Keep Wildlife in the Wild

Lion breeding farms in South Africa
There are thought to be around 3,000 lions in captivity in lion farms in South Africa.  The lion farms are seen as lion zoos that tourists can visit.  Recently, during football’s World Cup, the Germany football team were photographed with cubs at Johannesburg Lion Park. (See this Article in the Daily Mail).  On such farms, the lions are bred to produce cubs that are removed from their mothers, often at a few days old, so they can be hand-reared.  This dependence on humans makes the cubs easier to handle so they can be used for photo opportunities / handling opportunities with tourists.  However, at around 12-18 months of age, the cubs become too powerful and boisterous and are no longer safe with humans.  It is what happens next to these youngsters, that is of especial concern.

Canned hunting is still legal in South Africa. 
Canned hunting involves the shooting of captive-bred wild animals in an enclosure from which there is no escape.  With lions having to be bred to provide a constant supply of cubs for handling, the farms soon have a surplus of young adults to feed and house.  It has been reported that mature lions from lion breeding farms have ended up in hunting operations. For more information click here

Cub handling – poor welfare. 
Some believe the cubs are genuine orphans.  This is not the case – for the farms to advertise cub handling it means they must be confident of a regular supply of cubs and this can only be achieved by a breeding programme.  It is stressful for the mothers to have their cubs regularly removed, and stressful for the cubs to be handled by a succession of strangers.  The cubs are usually kept in small pens, so they are easier to catch.

Cub handling – no benefit to conservation  
These cubs can never be returned to the wild, for many reasons, not least because they now see humans as a source of food and would not have sufficient fear of humans if released.

In short, if cub handling is advertised, whether in South Africa or in any other country, it should be avoided at all costs.

This article was written by Tricia Holford, big cat specialist for the Born Free Foundation