At the beginning of May, a report was published by the South African Ministry of the Environment with the aim of reviewing the policies and regulatory measures relating to the hunting, trade, keeping of elephants, lions, leopards and rhinos throughout the state. .
The report saw the intervention of a team of 25 experts: the industry of breeding captive lions for economic purposes, bred for the purpose of being hunted by tourists but also those raised in zoos allows tourists to enter. close direct contact with the animals by touching them and taking some pictures.
A political and legislative review was therefore initiated to put an end to the breeding of lions in captivity. The big cats will have to stay in the savannah, in the wild.
Likewise, they cannot be bred in captivity for use in amusement parks.
At the moment a small step forward for the protection of these animals has been made, the hunting of big cats per se will not be prohibited, which can continue, regulated, only towards animals that are in the wild.
So what is prohibited is the breeding, reproduction, keeping and use of felines in captivity, for any economic purpose, including hunting, meeting with tourists, selling puppies as pets, but also l use of bones to supply oriental markets for alternative medicines.