Investigation: Captive Lion Breeding & Trade

ISSUE: CAPTIVE LION BREEDING & TRADE

COUNTRY: SOUTH AFRICA

DATE: SEPTEMBER 2025

For many years, Born Free has been campaigning to end the cruel commercial predator breeding industry in South Africa, which supplies live lions and other predators for ‘canned hunting’ operations, as well as parts and products derived from the animals for international trade.

The industry first came to international public attention in an exposé by ITV’s The Cook Report, entitled ‘Making a Killing’, which was broadcast on British TV in 1997.

In spite of this it continued to grow. By the time a national audit was carried out in 2023, there were almost 8,000 lions, and more than 2,300 other predators including cheetah, servals, caracals, leopards, wild dogs, and non-native tigers and jaguars, across almost 350 captive facilities.

As well as supplying live lions for the horrific ‘canned hunting’ industry, lions have also been bred and killed for their bones which are in demand in the far east for use in traditional medicines and tonics. Many of the predator breeders also operate tourism-based activities such as cub petting, photo opportunities, walking with lions, and so-called ‘voluntourism’ where volunteers pay to hand-rear cubs they are wrongly led to believe are orphans that are being prepared for release into the wild.

The breeding farms also supply a substantial international demand for captive-bred animals for use in zoos, circuses, travelling exhibitions and breeding operations in other countries.

Growth of the captive lion breeding industry, 2005-2023

Graph showing the growth of the captive lion breeding industry over time.

OUR CAMPAIGN:

Lion cubs behind a fence at at captive breeding facility In 2018, we published our report Cash Before Conservation, which detailed the industry’s development, the horrors of ‘canned hunting’ and the export of lion bones, as well as the industry’s links to illegal wildlife trade and the trade in donkey skins and meat. The report also exposed the key role played by prominent members of South Africa’s national and provincial governments in the development and expansion of the industry.

In August 2018 Born Free’s Head of Policy, Dr Mark Jones, was the sole overseas NGO representative to be invited to give evidence to the Committee on Environmental Affairs’ colloquium on the future of South Africa’s cruel and cynically commercial lion breeding industry, which took place in Cape Town. The meeting produced a report rejecting the practice of breeding lions for hunting or trade, which was subsequently adopted by the National Assembly

And on World Lion Day in 2020, we provided the South African government with a petition containing close to 250,000 signatures calling for an end to the captive lion industry.

We have continued to submit detailed evidence to various South African government enquiries and consultations on this and other wildlife issues ever since.

Finally, on 2nd May 2021, the South African government formally adopted a recommendation to end captive breeding, lion interactions such as cub petting, canned hunting, and the use of captive lions or their derivatives for commercial purposes. However, the closure of the industry has not yet been legislated for, and the government is exploring voluntary exit options for lion breeders, prior to any mandatory closure.

UPDATE:

Born Free is now calling on the South African government to make good on its commitment to shut the industry down, with all due regard for the welfare of the animals involved.

This process won’t be easy. Many of the lion breeders are well connected and will doubtless try to protect their gruesome businesses, and may well challenge any government action to close them down through the courts. There is also the question of what will become of the animals that are currently housed in the breeding facilities.

Also, the government is currently only focussed on lion breeding. We are urging it to address the breeding of all predator species for commercial purposes.

Lastly, we are working to ensure that genuine sanctuaries that house lions, like our own sanctuary at Shamwari, aren’t inadvertently required to close when the government legislates to end commercial lion farming. After all, genuine sanctuaries are part of the solution for at least some of the poor animals currently being exploited for profit.